NNA – Top US diplomat Antony Blinken landed in Israel on Friday to call for localized pauses in fighting to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza as Israel said it surrounded the Palestinian enclaversquo;s biggest city and the focus of its drive to annihilate Hamas.
With the conflict nearing the end of its fourth week, US Secretary of State Blinken visit to Israel is the second in a month to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israelrsquo;s military battled Hamas militants, who fought back with hit-and-run attacks from underground tunnels.
ldquo;Wersquo;re at the height of the battle. Wersquo;ve had impressive successes and have passed the outskirts of Gaza City. We are advancing,rdquo; Netanyahu said in a statement after the military said it had encircled the seaside enclaversquo;s main city.
As Blinken left Washington for the Middle East, he said he would discuss concrete steps to minimize harm to civilians in Gaza. The White House, meanwhile, said any pauses in fighting should be temporary and localized, and insisted they would not stop Israel defending itself.
Mounting casualties among Palestinian civilians, along with acute shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel, have intensified calls by global leaders for a pause in fighting or a ceasefire.
Israel has dismissed those calls, saying it targets Hamas fighters whom it accuses of intentionally hiding among the population and civilian buildings. The White House has also rejected calls for a cease-fire.
Gaza health authorities say at least 9,061 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its assault on the enclave of 2.3 million people in retaliation for deadly attacks by Hamas militants on southern Israel.
A group of independent United Nations experts warned Palestinians there are at ldquo;grave risk of genocide.rdquo;
ldquo;We call on Israel and its allies to agree to an immediate ceasefire. We are running out of time,rdquo; the group of UN special rapporteurs said in a statement.
The Israeli mission to the UN in Geneva called the rapporteurrsquo;s comments ldquo;deplorable and deeply concerningrdquo; and blamed Hamas for the civilian deaths. Steacute;phane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said a determination of genocide could only be made by a relevant UN judicial body.
Israel says Hamas killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 240 hostages in the attack on Oct. 7, the deadliest day of its 75-year-old history.
The White House said on Thursday it was looking into a series of pauses in the conflict.
ldquo;What wersquo;re trying to do is explore the idea of as many pauses as might be necessary to continue to get aid out and to continue to work to get people out safely, including hostages,rdquo; US national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
Blinken also was due to meet Jordanrsquo;s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman on Saturday. In a statement, Safadi said Israel must end the war on Gaza, where he said it was committing war crimes by bombing civilians and imposing a siege.–agenciesnbsp;
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