Too many Palestinians have died – Blinken
UN officials have described Gaza as “hell on earth” where “a child is killed every 10 minutes”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that “far too many” Palestinians have died in Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza. He also called for civilian deaths and suffering to be minimized.
“Much more needs to be done to protect civilians and to make sure that humanitarian assistance reaches them,” the top US diplomat told reporters in New Delhi on Friday, as he wrapped up his tour of the Middle East and Asia.
“Far too many Palestinians have been killed, far too many have suffered these past weeks, and we want to do everything possible to prevent harm to them and to maximize the assistance that gets to them.”
The US has been trying to convince Israel to introduce longer “humanitarian pauses,” and has come up with additional proposals on how to better protect civilians, although Blinken did not elaborate on those discussions.
The death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza has exceeded 11,000 people, including 4,506 children and 3,027 women, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave said on Friday. According to its latest data, some 27,490 others were wounded during more than a month of bombardment by the IDF.
Blinken reiterated Washington’s unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and support for Israel’s right to defend itself. However, French President Emmanuel Macron argued on Friday that self-defense was “no justification” for the scale of the bombing and civilian suffering in Gaza.
“De facto – today, civilians are bombed – de facto. These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed. So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop,” Macron told the BBC, insisting that “it’s important for the mid-to-long run as well for the security of Israel itself, to recognise that all lives matter.”
“On average, a child is killed every 10 minutes in Gaza,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the UN Security Council on Friday, describing the Palestinian enclave's healthcare system as being “on its knees.”
“Nowhere and no one is safe,” he said. “Hospital corridors crammed with the injured, the sick, the dying. Morgues overflowing. Surgery without anesthesia. Tens of thousands of displaced people sheltering at hospitals.”
“If there is a hell on earth, it is the north of Gaza,” Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told reporters in Geneva.
IT’S TOO LATE FOR THESE CHILDREN…
STOP THE GAZA GENOCIDE NOW.
Images of mass slaughter of Gazan children by the US and Collective Western-back racist Apartheid Zionist Israeli state terror regime leadership and its occupation army in response to the October 2023 Palestinian Gazan Rebellion against decades of Zionist state terror repression, systematic ethnic cleansing, and collective punishment among many other war crimes and crimes against humanity.
As of this posting, the US and collective western leaders are sending billions of dollars in military aide and support to the racist Apartheid Zionist Israeli regime in support of its ongoing Gaza Genocide operations as the World Community helplessly watches with outrage yet has gone into the streets by the millions demanding a ceasefire and an end to the US and western supported Zionist genocide.
US approves new $20bn weapons sale to Israel
The arms package includes dozens of fighter jets, as well as mortar and tank ammunition
14 Aug, 2024 02:54
The US government has approved more than $20 billion in new arms sales to Israel, despite pressure on President Joe Biden's administration to end the bloodshed in Gaza.
In a series of notifications to Congress on Tuesday, the State Department said Washington is “committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel in developing and maintaining a strong and ready self-defense capability.”
The main part of the package, worth about $18.8 billion, consists of 50 new F-15IA fighter jets and the upgrade of 25 of the aircraft already in service. Israel also intends to buy Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) for the jets, nearly 33,000 120mm tank cartridges, up to 50,000 high-explosive mortars, and new military cargo vehicles.
The State Department said the proposed sale “will not alter the basic military balance in the region” and will have “no adverse impact on US defense readiness.”
Most of the proposed weapons sales are long-term deals, but the announcement comes amid fears that the war in Gaza could spill over into a broader Middle East conflict. After the killing in Iran of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh – who was the militant group’s chief negotiator in indirect Gaza ceasefire talks with Israel – and top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, in late July, both Tehran and Hezbollah have threatened retaliation against the Jewish state.
The killings have sparked concerns of a full-blown war between Iran and Israel. On Monday, the leaders of France, Germany, and the UK jointly called on Iran and its allies “to refrain from attacks that would further escalate regional tensions.”
Hostilities broke out after Hamas launched a surprise incursion into southern Israel last October, resulting in the deaths of around 1,100 people and the taking of 200 hostages. The Israeli response has claimed at least 39,800 lives, according to Palestinian health officials.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has reportedly felt increasing pressure from the Biden administration to end the war amid growing international concern over Israel’s methods of warfare. While it would take years for the newly approved weapons to actually reach Israel, according to Axios, the announcement may help deflect pre-election criticism from Republicans that the Biden-Harris administration does not provide sufficient support to Israel.
RT.com
US to unblock bomb shipments to Israel – Axios
The IDF will receive a large batch of 500-pound bombs in two weeks, the outlet’s sources claim
30 Jun, 2024 14:56
Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe Biden © Debbi Hill - Pool / Getty Images
The US has decided to release a shipment of 1,800 bombs to Israel that was suspended several months ago amid concerns over destruction in the Gazan city of Rafah, Axios reported on Thursday.
According to unnamed US and Israeli officials who spoke with the news site, the administration of US President Joe Biden is willing to send a batch of 500-pound (226kg) bombs that were put on hold in April. At the time, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin cited Israel’s failure to heed warnings that it “shouldn’t launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battle space.”
Axios suggested the unfreezing means the US is now less worried that Israel could use those bombs in Gaza, as it seeks to improve relations with its key Middle East ally, which had been strained since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last October. The bombs are reportedly due to be delivered in two weeks, after Israel’s operation in Rafah is over.
US and Israeli officials are still in talks on another part of the shipment that includes 1,800 2,000-pound (900kg) bombs, the report said. Axios also noted that negotiations on releasing arms to Israel were delayed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public jabs at Washington on the matter.
On Friday, Reuters reported that since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, the US has provided Israel with a total of 14,000 of the 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire missiles, and other munitions. Washington has also sent $6.5 billion in security assistance since October 7.
The hostilities between Israel and the Gaza-based militant group Hamas have so far claimed the lives of more than 37,000 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis, while causing unprecedented destruction and a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
RT.com
This blog will be updated to include future information as the Palestine Crisis unfolds.
Please also see related blogs:
Too many Palestinians have died – Blinken
Child killed every 10 minutes in Gaza – WHO chief
Gaza now a ‘graveyard’ for children – UN agency
A Modest Proposal - A Declaration of Independence for a Free Republic of Palestine