The United States has submitted a new draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which would directly lead to the release of hostages.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Saudi media outlet Al Hadas on Wednesday night that the new resolution would end the violent fighting in the Palestinian territories and called on international organizations to support it.
“We are calling for an immediate ceasefire with the release of the hostages, which would bring immediate relief to so many people, children, women and men suffering in Gaza. “If we can reach them, we might be able to create the conditions for a permanent ceasefire. That’s what we want, so that’s the imperative at this point.” That’s what we’re pushing for, and Qatar and Egypt are working closely with us to try to get an agreement,” Blinken told Al Hadas.
Blinken added, “In fact, we have a resolution that we are currently introducing to the United Nations Security Council that calls for an immediate ceasefire with the release of the hostages, and that we hope that all countries will support it.” I strongly hope that. I think so. It will send a strong message, a strong signal.”
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken exits his car as he departs for Cairo in Jeddah, March 21, 2024. (Evelyn Hochstein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Speaking in Saudi Arabia, Blinken reiterated a neutral tone in support of Israel’s right to protect itself from terrorism, while calling for an end to the war, citing civilian casualties.
“Of course, we support Israel and its right to defend itself… but at the same time, our priority is to protect civilians and get humanitarian aid, with a focus on civilians who are at risk and suffering terribly.” matter,” Blinken said.
“And we’ve been leading that effort to get more information to the people who need it. We’re pushing that as hard as we can.” “Israel needs to open more access points to Gaza. We have seen some progress in the Gaza Strip, including a new access point opened just over a week ago. , we need more support for what already exists.” All of this is necessary to ensure that as much support as possible comes from as many places as possible and reaches as many people as possible. Must be done regularly.
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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jeddah on March 20, 2024. (Evelyn Hochstein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Mr. Blinken visited Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, in response to the Israeli-Hamas war that began on October 7, 2023, when the terrorist group carried out the deadliest terrorist attack on Israeli soil in history. This was his sixth visit to the Middle East since the outbreak of the outbreak.
After landing on Wednesday, Mr. Blinken met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reacts in Jeddah on March 21, 2024, as he leaves for Cairo. (Evelyn Hochstein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Blinken acknowledged in an interview on Wednesday that President Biden had discussed future actions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly in Rafah.
“We have been very clear that we cannot support large-scale ground operations, military operations in Rafah. President Biden has also been very clear. As you know, there are 1.4 million people in Rafah. “We have a large number of civilians, many of whom have been evacuated from other areas, parts of Gaza,” Blinken said. “There is no effective way to get them out of the way and to safety, and even those who remain on Rafah will be in grave danger.”
He continued, “So this is one of the things that President Biden talked about with Prime Minister Netanyahu. We’re having a team come to the United States from Israel to deal with the issue of Hamas remaining in Rafah in a different way. It will happen next week.”
Blinken’s tour includes visits to Egypt on Thursday and Israel on Friday.
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The current war, which has left more than 32,000 dead, is the bloodiest conflict between Israel and Hamas.
