At a conference being held in Jordan today, the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will meet with major Middle Eastern states. Since the strike that Hamas carried out on Israel on October 7, Blinken is making his third trip to the region.
On Saturday, the Israeli military issued another invitation to the people of Gaza to relocate to southern areas of the territory as it prepares to concentrate its operation against Hamas in Gaza City and the northern areas of the enclave. However, Israel has also conducted strikes against other sites located in the southern strip.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, stated that he was “horrified” by an Israeli attack that took place outside of a hospital in Gaza on Friday. According to witnesses, dozens of people were killed and injured in the attack. While denouncing Hamas, Guterres restated his earlier calls for a truce in the region.
Blinken, who was also in Israel on Friday, has stated in the past that “humanitarian pauses” would help facilitate the delivery of aid and the evacuation of captives from Gaza. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that his government is opposed to any interim truce in Gaza until all hostages held by Hamas are released.
