JERUSALEM, March 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his eighth visit to Israel on Friday since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct. 7, 2023. The visit comes at a time when the death toll in the Gaza Strip surpassed 32,000, as announced by the Hamas-run health ministry in the Palestinian enclave.
"I met with (U.S.) Secretary of State Blinken. I told him that I greatly appreciate the fact that for more than five months we have been standing together in the war against Hamas," Netanyahu was quoted as saying in a statement released by Israel's Government Press Office.
He noted that Israel recognizes the need to evacuate the civilian population from the combat zones and is "working to this end," according to the statement, yet adding that there is "no way to defeat Hamas without entering Rafah and eliminating the remnant of the battalions there."
"I told him that I hope we would do this with U.S. support but if necessary -- we will do it alone," Netanyahu stressed in the statement.
Blinken discussed efforts to reach an agreement for a ceasefire of at least six weeks that would secure the release of Israeli hostages and enable an increase of humanitarian assistance, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Friday in a statement.
In his meeting with Netanyahu and his war cabinet, Blinken warned Israel that if it does not come up with a plan for the "day after" Hamas, Israel will be stuck in Gaza for years and will see its international standing undermined and national security in danger, according to Israel's Walla news site.
If current trends continue, the only possible results are Hamas remaining in power or anarchy in Gaza, Blinked reportedly told Netanyahu.
At least 32,070 Palestinians have been killed and 74,298 have been injured in Gaza since Oct. 7, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said on Friday.
There has been "no real progress" in negotiations with Hamas on ceasefire, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Friday, as Israel's Mossad chief David Barnea traveled to Doha for hostage talks with high-ranking officials from the United States, Egypt, and Qatar.
"The Americans are dressing it up as progress," the source was quoted by the online newspaper as saying. "The pressure to move forward is coming from them."
Also on Friday, Jerusalem witnessed over 120,000 Muslims participating in the second Friday prayers of Ramadan on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to the Jewish people as the Temple Mount, according to the Israeli police and religious authorities.
About 10,000 worshipers reportedly traveled from the West Bank to worship in this holy site, said the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Since the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan last week, Israeli security personnel in Jerusalem and the West Bank have been on high alert. Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been escalating due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
A Palestinian militant opened fire Friday morning on an Israeli vehicle in the West Bank, sparking an hours-long gunfight that ended with the Palestinian being killed by an Israeli helicopter strike and at least seven Israelis were injured, according to military and medical sources. ■
