Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
09-01-2024
WASHINGTON/ JERUSALEM: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Palestinians must not be pressured into leaving Gaza, and must be allowed to return to their homes once conditions allow.
Blinken condemned statements by some Israeli ministers, who called for the resettlement of Palestinians elsewhere.
The US official was in Qatar on his latest Middle East tour.
His comments followed reports that up to 70 people were killed at Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.
Footage from Jabalia showed bodies lying in the rubble of a destroyed building, many of them women and children.
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told media that it “acted against a military target in the strike” and that it was “not aware of the number of casualties mentioned”.
“In response to Hamas’ barbaric attacks, the IDF is operating to dismantle Hamas military and administrative capabilities,” they said, adding that the IDF “follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm”.
More than 60 Palestinians were reportedly also killed in the past day in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Jabalia camp has been struck many times since Israel began its war against Hamas following the unprecedented attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on 7 October.
Some 1,200 people were killed most of them civilians and about 240 others taken hostage in the Hamas raids.
More than 22,000 people mostly women and children have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. It has reported at least 113 deaths over 24 hours of Israeli bombardment.
“Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow,” Blinken said on Sunday. “They cannot, they must not be pressed to leave Gaza.”
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for Palestinians to leave Gaza and make way for Israelis who could “make the desert bloom” and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, another far-right politician, this week issued a call “to encourage the migration of Gaza residents” as a “solution” to the crisis.
The official line from the Israeli government is that Gazans will eventually be able to return to their homes, though it has yet to outline how or when this will be possible.
Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. Health officials said even medical facilities including hospitals are now unsafe.
Three international medical aid groups announced they were pulling out of the Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza after Israel issued evacuation orders. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
