TEL AVIV, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself as it pummels the Gaza Strip with an air and ground assault.
“Israel has not only the right but the obligation to defend itself… to make sure that this October 7 never happens again,” Blinken told journalists as he met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.
Israel launched a massive retaliatory assault against Gaza’s Hamas rulers after its fighters carried out the October 7 attack which Israeli officials say killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians.
More than 9,200 people have been killed in Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.
Soon after Blinken’s arrival he held separate meetings with Herzog and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Blinken, who is on his second tour to the Middle East since the war erupted, urged Israel to protect civilians who are caught in the crossfire and to “bring assistance to those who so desperately need it”.
US President Joe Biden has promised full support and ramped-up military aid to Israel for its campaign in Gaza, but in a visible shift of tone has also voiced empathy for Palestinian suffering which has stoked anger in parts of the world.
“I think we need a pause,” Biden said on Thursday at a campaign event.
Blinken said such a pause could be “a way of further facilitating the ability to get assistance in… to make sure that it gets to the people who need it.
“We see it as a way also and very importantly of creating a better environment in which hostages can be released,” he said in Tel Aviv.
Israeli officials say 241 people abducted on October 7 are being held in Gaza, while four hostages have been released.
After meeting Blinken, Netanyahu ruled out “a temporary truce that doesn’t include the release of our hostages.”