Report: While in Israel, Blinken did not give any indication that the United States was seeking to put a time limit on war against Gaza

High-level political sources in Jerusalem said that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed during his visit to Israel yesterday (Friday), where he held meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials, Washington’s desire to see what he described as periods of humanitarian truce in The ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip, but at the same time, he admitted that there is a challenge facing Israel, which is to prevent the Hamas movement from using this temporary truce to its advantage.

These sources added that the Israeli Prime Minister expressed his opposition to such a temporary truce, and said that he rejects any temporary cessation of the fighting against Hamas that does not include the release of prisoners, and Blinken informed him of this.

According to these same sources, Blinken called for supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip, along with other humanitarian aid, indicating that mechanisms could be put in place to ensure its access to Gaza hospitals. He also noted that there were shared concerns with Israel about Hamas using fuel for its own purposes, but Netanyahu insisted that Israel would not allow fuel to enter Gaza.

Blinken himself said in statements he made to the media that Israel will not remain standing alone as long as the United States exists, and he stressed that this position is what he most expressed during his meetings with Netanyahu, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and the war cabinet.

Blinken reiterated that Israel has every right to defend itself and do everything in its power to ensure that what happened last October 7 will never happen again. He stressed that the way Israel deals with this is important, and that more effort is needed to protect the Palestinian civilian population.

“No country should tolerate the slaughter of its innocents, and that applies to Israel,” Blinken said. “I was shown additional images and footage collected by the Israeli government from video cameras [of the Hamas attack], some of which no human ability could have imagined.” What is shocking is that the brutality of these events quickly receded in the memory of many, but this is not the case, and it will not be the case in Israel and the United States.”

Blinken added that protecting the Palestinian civilian population while Israel wages its war is the right thing to do, and that failure to do so is in the interest of the Hamas movement. He said that he discussed with Israel the steps that must be taken to fight under these circumstances. He stressed the need to increase the flow of aid to civilians and take further steps to help remove additional numbers of foreign nationals. He said that he spoke with Israeli leaders about concrete steps to meet the needs of food, water, medicine, fuel and other basic needs.

Blinken acknowledged that there were legitimate questions raised in his conversations with Israeli officials about how to best use any humanitarian truce to allow more aid in and help secure the release of hostages, while preventing Hamas from using truce times to its advantage. He also stressed that refusing to allow such aid to arrive would anger potential peace partners and alienate them.

Blinken urged periods of humanitarian truce, describing them as possible to enhance security for civilians in Gaza and provide more effective aid. He said he discussed with Israeli leaders how, when and where these truce periods could occur. He pointed out that preparation and coordination for it will take time, and there are legitimate questions about how to link these truce periods to the release of hostages and how to avoid Hamas exploiting them.

Blinken pointed out that the Hamas movement does not care about the Palestinians, and uses them “brutally as human shields, and places its infrastructure and fighters in residential buildings, schools, mosques, and hospitals, but despite this, civilians should not bear the consequences of these brutal acts.”

Blinken did not give any indication that the United States was seeking to put a time limit on the war in the Gaza Strip. However, he spoke about the post-war era and said that the goal of the war could not only be to defeat Hamas, but also to create a brighter future that includes... The two-state solution. He said that the vision of a two-state solution can give hope to people, and that there is a broad and strong coalition throughout the Middle East that supports it. He promised to hold discussions with partners across the region and beyond about what should happen once Hamas is defeated.

This was Blinken's third visit since the beginning of the war.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that he appreciates this visit and appreciates the support of US President Joe Biden and the United States for Israel. He added that he informed Blinken that Israel rejects a temporary ceasefire, which does not include the release of prisoners. He also informed him that Israel would not allow fuel to enter Gaza, and was opposed to sending money to the Strip.