2024-02-03 19:51:00
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken continues his efforts to reach an agreement for the release of those kidnapped by Hamas and to implement a ceasefire in the fighting. “I am returning to the Middle East next week to continue working with our partners to achieve sustainable peace in the region,” he wrote
The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, will leave tomorrow for a five-day trip to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the State Department said in a press release.
The visit to the region will be his fifth since the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, in which 1,200 Israelis and foreign workers were massacred. Blinken will continue efforts to reach an agreement for the release of those abducted by Hamas and to implement a ceasefire in the fighting to “enable continued and increased delivery of humanitarian assistance” to the citizens of Gaza, the State Department said.
“I am returning to the Middle East in the coming week to continue working with our partners to achieve sustainable peace in the region, with security for both Israelis and Palestinians,” Blinken wrote in a press release.
The visit comes amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, more than a dozen countries, including the US, suspended funding to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, after 12 members of the organization participated in the attacks on October 7.
Blinken described the accusations from Israel as “extremely credible,” although White House officials noted that the allegations refer to only a small portion of the more than 13,000 people employed by UNRWA in Gaza. The UN agency, meanwhile, urged countries to resume funding, claiming that more than 2 million Gazans depend on her, and that she immediately canceled the contracts of the staff who took part in the massacre.
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