Israel-Hamas War: US Secretary of State Blames Hamas for Ending Humanitarian Pause
The US Secretary of State reiterated that America is actively working to restore peace in the region and secure the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas.
Dubai: The “pause” in the war between Israel and Hamas ended because the terror group “reneged” on its promises, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday. He blamed Hamas for ending the lull in the ongoing war, citing a terrorist attack in Jerusalem and the firing of rockets before the lull ended. “I made it clear that after the pause it was imperative that Israel put in place clear protection measures for civilians and for the continuation of humanitarian assistance in the future. And as we have just seen, Israel has already taken some of that action, including sending information, to clarify where people can be in safe areas in Gaza. And we will look at that in the future. It’s very, very important,” Blinken said
Blinken mentioned the attack in Jerusalem that killed three people. “It is also important to understand why the break ended. It came to an end because of Hamas. Hamas went back on the commitments it had made. Even before the break ended, the country committed a horrific terrorist attack in Jerusalem, killing three people and injuring others, including Americans. It started firing missiles before the break was over. And as I said, it went back on the commitments it had made regarding the release of certain hostages.”
The US Secretary of State reiterated that America is actively working to restore peace in the region and secure the release of Israeli hostages by Hamas.
“We are committed to doing everything we can to get everyone home and reunite them with their families, including continuing the process that has been working for seven days. We had a break for seven days; seven days for people to come home and be reunited with their families,” he said.
‘So we’re working on that almost hour by hour. But in the meantime, we have also made it very clear that we support Israel and its efforts to ensure that October 7 will never happen again. We have also been very clear about the need to do so in a way that prioritises the protection of civilians and ensures that humanitarian aid gets to those who need it. So that’s what we’re focusing on, and we’re doing both at the same time,” he added.
“We remain intensely focused on getting everyone home and getting the hostages back. It’s something I’ve been working on today too. So we’re still working on this. We are also very focused, as we have been all along, on making sure that this conflict does not spread and that it does not escalate in other places. But we also use our diplomacy to look not only at what is happening today and how we deal with it, but also at what happens in Gaza the next day and how we can move towards a just, lasting and secure peace. for Israelis, for Palestinians – in fact, for everyone in the region. And that is also an important focus of our diplomacy,” he added.
According to CNN, this statement by US Secretary of State Blinken comes as the agreed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas expired after seven days.
Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas resumed their war in the Gaza Strip on Friday morning after a weeklong ceasefire ended, with the two sides failing to reach an agreement on the release of more hostages held by the militant group.
Israeli fighter jets pounded Hamas targets in Gaza shortly after the ceasefire ended at 7 a.m. local time.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Blinken held a crucial meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Thursday (November 30), marking his second visit to the West Bank since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, as reported by CNN.
His visit came against the backdrop of increased violence by Israeli settlers in the region following the October 7 attack on Israel.
(With input from the agency)