Anthony Blinken told Israeli leaders that “much remains to be done” to get aid to civilians in the besieged northern Gaza Strip, citing possible US legal consequences if no action is taken, a top Biden administration official said.
On Tuesday, the US secretary of state met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Defense Minister Ron Dermer and senior military officials in a series of meetings in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The meetings are part of a regional tour that Washington sees as an opportunity to renew talks after Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza last week.
The account of Blinken’s face-to-face message to Israelis comes despite growing criticism that the US has failed to curb the rate of civilian killings in Gaza because it has refused to use its arms supply to Israel as a means of self-defense.
Washington has always resisted criticism.
The official said Blinken also pressed Israel’s leadership about reports that its forces are using the so-called “widespread plan” in northern Gaza – a tactic described as using mass forced displacement and surrender or starvation tactics against everyone. those who remain.
The official said the Israelis told them the tactic was “absolutely not” their policy, to which the Americans responded that their Israeli counterparts needed to clarify this publicly.
Israel said its offensive in northern Gaza was to end the Hamas uprising.
Blinken’s public warning about humanitarian aid followed his letter last week, signed by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, giving the Israeli government 30 days to pump aid into the northern Gaza Strip or risk military aid being cut off.
“There have been long discussions about this,” said a State Department official.
They added: “The measures we already have [been] what has been taken so far has not been enough and we have made that clear today, that we need to see more. ”
“We have seen progress in the beginning. “We heard a lot from Minister Gallant about… the steps he will take to respond to them, but… with the prime minister, Minister Dermer and Minister Gallant, this was a key part of the conversation,” said the official. who spoke on the condition of disclosure.
Aid groups have warned that civilians in northern Gaza are at risk of starvation amid the Israeli military’s siege.
Israel says its offensive there is targeting Hamas fighters, and the US has warned it not to try to evict civilians from southern Gaza, where 1.7 million residents are crammed into the crowded enclave at “deadly risk” of disease.
Pressed on whether Blinken had verbally warned the Israelis about the consequences if Israel did not listen to his demands, the official said Blinken “made it clear that there are consequences under our law and policy, [and] what those actions should be”.
The statement issued by Netanyahu’s office after the meeting did not say anything about humanitarian aid. It emphasized the “Iranian threat” against Israel and the need for the US and Israel to “come together” against it.
The statement also said Blinken expressed America’s “deep shock” at what Israel said was an attempt by Iran to kill Netanyahu in a Hezbollah airstrike on his private residence over the weekend.
He said Blinken described the event as “a very extreme incident”.
Asked if the account was accurate, the US official said Blinken “expressed concern that it was a very serious incident… ‘Extraordinary and extreme’ is not language he would normally use.”
The official added that the US has no investigation whatsoever into the claim of Iranian involvement.
The difference in focus of their discussion comes as Israel prepares to launch a retaliatory strike against Iran for its October 1 ballistic missile attack. That followed Israel’s recent assassinations of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
The US is trying to get Israel to scale back its response out of fear of further regional escalation.
The US official also said Blinken had discussed the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon as part of a “push” the Americans are making to end the fighting, but did not provide any new information on whether this has progressed.
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