2024-01-07 20:01:35
According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the Middle East region is in a “moment of significant tension”. “The conflict could quickly metastasize, causing even more suffering in the region,” Blinken said after meeting Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha on Sunday, using the medical term for the spread of a cancerous growth in the body.
On what is now his fourth trip to the Middle East since the beginning of the Gaza war, Blinken said he and his interlocutors agreed that the conflict should not expand. “From the beginning, we have always warned of a likely and dangerous expansion of the conflict,” Al Thani said. The killing of a Hamas leader in Beirut and a senior Iranian general in Syria – both allegedly ordered by Israel – should be condemned and a violation of the sovereignty of these countries.
Blinken urged that Israel must better protect civilians in Gaza during its attacks there. “It is absolutely imperative that Israel do more to protect civilians,” Blinken said. “Far too many innocent Palestinians have already been killed.” He will also address this during his planned visit to Israel in the next few days. More than 22,000 people have been killed so far, including thousands of women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority.
“It is painful that we have reached a stage where we are unfortunately used to images of death and destruction in Gaza,” Al Thani said. The war continues despite efforts at international and regional levels.
The aid deliveries to Gaza, where around 2.2 million people lived before the start of the war, are still “not sufficient to meet the enormous needs,” said Blinken. “More than 90 percent of the population is affected by acute food insecurity,” said the US minister. They would not have enough access to water, food, medicine and other essential goods.
Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani called for efforts to achieve an “immediate ceasefire” when meeting with Blinken. Qatar, together with Egypt and the USA, had brokered a ceasefire and the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Blinken said the U.S. would continue to work “ceaselessly” to bring the hostages home.
Blinken is again on a trip to the Middle East to talk to several countries in the region about de-escalating the war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas and averting an expansion of the conflict. After stops in Jordan and Qatar, he also planned to visit the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Egypt in the coming days.
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