U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says ‘we need to do more to protect Palestinian civilians’

Antony Blinken saiod More needs to be done to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza; must restore path to two-state solution; Israel has right to defend itself, must ensure civilians receive humanitarian aid; Hezbollah attacks on Israel's border with Lebanon risk widening conflict; more than 9,200 Palestinians killed, 1,400 Israelis; U.S. not advocating for general cease-fire, but localized pause; Israel advancing, no clear plan for what comes next.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said more needs to be done to “protect Palestinian civilians” in Gaza and that, without that, there will be “no partners for peace.”

Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv on Friday, Mr. Blinken also said, “we need to substantially and immediately increase the sustainable humanitarian assistance” into Gaza.

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He also said it was critical to restore the path toward a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, calling it the only “guarantor” of a safe and democratic Israel and independent Palestine. He said work on that must begin “not tomorrow, not after today, but today.”

Mr. Blinken urged Israel to do everything in its power to protect civilians caught in the fighting in Gaza and ensure they receive humanitarian aid, while underscoring the country’s right to defend itself. Israel, meanwhile, warned that it was on high alert for attacks on its border with Lebanon as fears grew that the conflict could widen.

Israeli troops tightened their encirclement of Gaza City, the focus of their campaign to crush the enclave’s ruling Hamas militants, who launched a brutal attack on Israeli communities that started the war.

But ever since that Oct. 7 assault, there have been concerns the conflict could ignite fighting on other fronts, and Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group have repeatedly traded fire along the border. Tensions escalated further ahead of a speech planned for later Friday by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.