In a telephone conversation that Anthony Blinken had on Thursday 9/05/2024, with his Egyptian counterpart, he expressed that the US is against any forced displacement of Palestinians in Rafah, where Israel is preparing a large-scale military attack.
The US secretary of state reaffirmed President Joe Biden’s “clear position that the US does not support a major military operation in Rafah and (…) rejects any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza,” his spokesman Matthew Miller said.
The Israeli military continued to shell the Gaza Strip on Thursday, even as the US threatened to suspend ammunition deliveries to Israel in the event of a large-scale attack on Rafah, a city where more than a million internally displaced people have taken refuge, on the closed border with Egypt. .
Mr. Blinken “also expressed US support for the reopening of the Rafah crossing and the continuation of urgently needed humanitarian aid deliveries,” Mr. Miller added.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army deployed tanks and seized control of a border crossing with Egypt, closing the main entry gate for aid convoys into the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Also, according to the press release issued by his spokesman, Mr. Blinken thanked Egypt for its mediation in the indirect negotiations to agree a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and secure the release of Israeli hostages of Hamas in exchange for their release. Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
The director of the CIA, William Burns, who actively participated in the talks, is returning to the United States today, said John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council of the American presidency.
According to the spokesman, the parties have not reconciled their differences, but Washington is “not giving up all hope” that indirect negotiations will lead to an agreement.
Source: RES
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