Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jerusalem, on May 1, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO/Handout via Xinhua)
JERUSALEM, May 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and voiced the U.S. opposition to the Israeli plan to launch a large-scale ground assault on Rafah.
The U.S. top diplomat insisted that the Israeli side should first provide an appropriate humanitarian plan for more than 1.2 million displaced Palestinians in Gaza's southernmost city before mounting an attack, according to a statement from the U.S. State Department.
Blinken also stressed the urgent need to increase the aid for the Gaza Strip and called for reaching a deal between Israel and Hamas to put a halt to the months-long conflict.
He also discussed with Netanyahu "the need to avoid further expansion of the conflict and updated the prime minister on ongoing efforts to ensure a lasting, sustainable peace in the region," according to the statement.
For his part, Netanyahu told Blinken that Israel would not agree to a deal that would force an end to its operation against Hamas in Gaza, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.
Talks in Cairo between the two conflicting parties indicated some progress, but significant disagreements remain, particularly on whether a deal would pause or completely end the military operations in Gaza.
Before meeting with Israeli President Issac Herzog in Tel Aviv, Blinken, speaking to reporters, attributed any potential failure in reaching an agreement to Hamas.
Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, after visiting Saudi Arabia and Jordan, on his seventh trip to the region since the beginning of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7, 2023. ■
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jerusalem, on May 1, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO/Handout via Xinhua)
