Blinken calls on Israel to establish safe zones for Gaza civilians

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Israel to build safe zones in Gaza for Palestinian civilians before resuming major military operations in the Hamas-ruled territory.

Blinken stated, “Israeli government must put in place humanitarian civilian protection plans that minimize further casualties of innocent Palestinians, including by clearly and precisely designating areas and places in southern and central Gaza, where they can be safe and out of the line of fire”.

Blinken was speaking on the seventh day of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that has resulted in the release of scores of captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Blinken went on to say, “Protecting civilians meant avoiding further significant displacement of civilians inside Gaza as well as damage to life (or) critical infrastructure such as hospitals, power stations, and water facilities”.

“And it means giving civilians who have been displaced in southern Gaza the choice to return to the north as soon as conditions permit”, Blinken continued.

He stated that there should be no enduring internal displacement.

According to Blinken, Israel is capable of neutralizing the threat posed by Hamas while causing the least amount of harm to innocent men, women, and children. And it is an obligation to do so.

“I underscore the imperative of the United States that the massive loss of civilian life and displacement of the scale that we saw in northern Gaza not be repeated in the south”, Blinken noted.

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