Blinken calls for protection of civilians as Israel prepares for expected assault on Gaza
Antony Blinken called on Saturday for protection for civilians in both the Gaza Strip and Israel as the Israeli military ordered half of the Palestinian territory's population to evacuate in advance of an expected ground assault. Blinken met his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, in Riyadh as he began a third day of intense Middle East diplomacy aimed at preventing the Israel-Hamas war from expanding into a regional conflict and fuelling a humanitarian crisis.
Both stressed the importance of minimising the harm to civilians as Israel prepared for an anticipated incursion against Hamas a week after the militant group's unprecedented attack in Israel.
«As Israel pursues its legitimate right, to defending its people and to trying to ensure that this never happens again, it is vitally important that all of us look out for civilians, and we're working together to do exactly that,» Blinken said before heading to the United Arab Emirates for similar discussions.
«None of us want to see suffering by civilians on any side, whether it's in Israel, whether it's in Gaza, whether it's anywhere else.»
A US official said on Saturday that the US did not ask Israel to slow or hold off on the evacuation plan. The official said the discussions with Israeli leaders did stress the importance of taking into account the safety of civilians as Israel's military moved to enforce the evacuation demand.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about internal discussions, said the Israeli leaders acknowledged the guidance and took it under advisement.
In a sign of some small potential progress, a senior US official travelling with Blinken said an agreement in principle had been worked out between Egypt,
