U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Prime Minister Benjamin NEtanyahu
(GPO)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, pushing to get more aid into Gaza, while urging Hamas to accept a deal that would halt fighting and bring some hostages home from the enclave.
Blinken also met with President Issac Herzog, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.
Israel is the final stop on the top U.S. diplomat's Middle East tour, his seventh visit to the region which was plunged into conflict on Oct. 7.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: EPA)
During their meeting, which last over 2 hours, Blinken noted improvement in delivering aid "and reiterated the importance of accelerating and sustaining that improvement," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
The State Department added that the secretary repeated the U.S. opposition to an IDF offensive on Gaza. Netanyahu said he would reject any hostage release deal that would include an end to the war. His office also put out a statement that the prime minister told the visiting secretary that an offensive on Gaza's southern most city would not be conditioned on anything.
If there is no cease-fire, Blinken said, there would be little chance for normalization with Saudi Arabia. The British Guardian newspaper reported that the Saudis urged the Biden administration to consider a defense agreement precluding normalization with Israel, should the offensive on Rafah take place.
Earlier Blinken spoke to families of Israeli hostages who demonstrated outside his hotel. He told them he had met with some family members, as he does on every visit to Israel, and told them the goal is to bring the hostages home and that the U.S. will not rest until that goal is achieved.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with families of hostages in Tel Aviv
(Photo: Moti Kimchi)
There is a strong offer on the table," he said of the proposed cease-fire deal in exchange for hostages' release and Hamas should accept it.
An official in the Palestinian Authority said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas refused to meet with Blinken during his visit because he is "angry with him," for making promises on his visits to Ramala that he does not keep. The official insisted however, that there is no crisis in the PA's relations with Washington.