Blinken blames Israeli UNRWA attack on lack of 'deconfliction'
4 Min Read
As expected, Antony Blinken says that the US is waiting for additional information before they can comment on the Israeli targeting of a UNRWA vehicle in Gaza, which killed at least 4 Palestinians.
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Men carry the bodies of people killed by "Israel" at an aid distribution point in Gaza City in February. (AFP)
Washington is coordinating a global effort to establish a marine supply corridor into Gaza, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday, as part of a US plan of reportedly "flooding the zone" with humanitarian supplies.
According to Reuters, US President Joe Biden announced on Friday, during his State of the Union, address that he has directed his military to lead a mission that will establish a temporary pier that will bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip., despite many considering this move a sign of weakness that shows just how much the country is unwilling to stand up to Israeli cruelty. Others see it as more of a display and publicity stunt than a humane, service-oriented approach, as it falls short of providing the much-needed aid.
Read next: Gaza airdrops take huge effort, don’t solve hunger crisis: WSJ
The construction of a temporary port system, "aimed at expediting aid to Gaza," is expected to take around 60 days, Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder, a spokesperson for the Pentagon, said.
On Wednesday, Blinken conducted a video conference with officials from Cyprus, Britain, the UAE, Qatar, the European Union, and the United Nations to discuss the new route's implementation, also revealing that the US was collaborating with "Israel" on the corridor.
Blinken acknowledged that the most "critical way" to get assistance into Gaza was still overland routes and even stated that "Israel" should open more land crossings.
As completely expected, Blinken completely failed to even consider that the IOF targeted a vehicle in front of the UNRWA gate at a time when dozens of Palestinians had crowded there.
Instead, he cited that the US was waiting for additional information before commenting, detailing that it was "imperative" to have "deconfliction with humanitarian workers," since they need to conduct their jobs in "security and confidence," with no mention of "Israel's" role in this.
Four were reportedly killed in the attack and several others were injured, yet Blinken decided to blame Hamas, accusing the movement of firing from "civilian areas" and emphasizing that the Israeli government should do everything possible to ensure "humanitarians can do their jobs."
Read more: US shields 'Israel' from scrutiny, violations with unlimited weapons
Meanwhile, Israeli officials have not shied away from revealing their true intentions, and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proclaimed that the country's "very survival is at stake" and believed that "total victory" is attainable.
According to Netanyahu, for the Israeli occupation "to win this war," it must "destroy the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah," otherwise "Hamas will regroup, rearm, and reconquer Gaza, and then we’re back to square one."
Rights groups in Gaza refuse aid by air and sea, call it 'illusion'
Human rights and humanitarian organizations in Gaza shut down attempts by the West to deliver aid by sea and air as an alternative to land transport, saying that a ceasefire was direly needed.
"States cannot hide behind airdrops and efforts to open a maritime corridor to create the illusion that they are doing enough to support the needs in Gaza: their primary responsibility is to prevent atrocity crimes from unfolding and apply effective political pressure to end the relentless bombardment and the restrictions which prevent the safe delivery of humanitarian aid," they said.
25 organizations, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Oxfam, and Amnesty International, signed the petition to deliver aid by land and insisted that an immediate and permanent ceasefire was the only way to guarantee the deliveries.
"After enduring five months of continuous bombardments and dehumanizing conditions, children, women and men in Gaza have the right to more than meager charity dropped from the sky," the organizations continued.
They also warned that the same countries dropping aid through the air are the same countries providing arms to "Israel", urging a halt to the military deliveries and focusing on a ceasefire instead, in addition to accountability for crimes against civilians on the ground.
