U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken Urges Humanitarian Pause in Israel-Gaza Conflict as Palestinian Casualties Continue to Rise
Nov. 4 2023, Published 11:15 a.m. ET
In a meeting with Israeli officials, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reportedly urged the instigation of a humanitarian pause in the ongoing conflict in Gaza, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to Axios, Blinken believes such a pause will provide an opportunity to buy additional time to execute a potential ground invasion.
Sources familiar with the talks revealed that Blinken stressed the mounting domestic pressure facing President Joe Biden in light of the surging Palestinian casualties.
The Israeli strikes on Gaza were initiated after a series of Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,400 people and the abduction of over 200 individuals.
The Health Ministry in Gaza reported that more than 9,200 Palestinians have been killed since the military campaign began, including civilians who died in three Israeli strikes on the Jabalia refugee camp.
Israel claimed that these bombings were aimed at eliminating Hamas terrorists.
One U.S. official and two Israeli officials, quoting Blinken's message, stated: "We don't want to stop you, but help us help you get more time." Blinken is scheduled to meet with Arab leaders in Jordan on Saturday to discuss the ongoing conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have stated that no humanitarian pause will take place until the hostages are freed.
A senior Israeli official, acknowledging the constraints faced by the Biden administration, revealed that Israel seeks to assist the United States in addressing their domestic challenges.
"The Biden administration is with us, but they have their constraints — also domestically. We want to help them," the official stated.
The conflict in Gaza has become a contentious issue in the United States, with increasing calls for a humanitarian pause to allow aid to enter the region. Some voices are even demanding an outright ceasefire.
President Biden himself expressed his support for a pause when confronted by a heckler during a campaign speech on Wednesday, November 1, stating, "I think we need a pause."
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As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Israel was recently forced to delete a controversial social media post this week after the country accused Palestinians of faking their deaths in Gaza.
The Israeli government came under fire after they posted a video to X, formerly known as Twitter, that allegedly showed the corpse of a killed Palestinian citizen moving inside a body bag.
The video was shared along with the message, "Reminder: The Gaza Ministry of Health = Hamas."
Many X users accused the Israeli government of pushing “conspiracy theories” on their official social media accounts after the video was removed.