Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media: Reports of two IOF soldiers killed in military vehicle explosion in Rafah.
Israeli media: Israeli soldier killed, another wounded in explosion in Rafah.
Medical sources in West Bank: Palestinian killed by occupation fire; wounded and left to bleed while ambulance crews were barred from reaching him in Al-Ain refugee camp, west of Nablus.
Hamas: Facts on ground reveal opposite of claims, as occupation authorities were ones who armed criminal gangs that practiced murder and kidnapping against people of Gaza.
Hamas: US Department of State's false claims fully in line with Israeli disinformation.
Hamas responds to US claims in statement, fully rejects US claims of "imminent attack" or violation of ceasefire.
Field sources in West Bank: Israeli bulldozers vandalize Palestinian lands northwest of Nablus.
Field sources in West Bank: Settlers attack Palestinian farmers harvesting olives in Nablus.
Field sources in West Bank: Armed Israeli settlers torch Palestinian vehicles near olive groves in Turmus Ayya north of Ramallah.
Israeli PM Office: Netanyahu has ordered that the Rafah crossing will not open until further notice.

Blinken calls Gaza situation 'dire', does nothing to compel 'Israel'

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 31 May 2024 20:54
4 Min Read

Blinken was responding to statements made by Samantha Power on Thursday when she called the conditions in Gaza "worse than ever before."

Listen
  • x
  • Blinken says Gaza situation 'dire', does nothing to help 
    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at a Czech Defense Capabilities Event at Prague-Kbely airport in Prague on May 30, 2024. (AP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that the humanitarian situation in Gaza was "dire" as "Israel" furthers its assault in the Strip, amid failed US efforts to facilitate aid. 

Blinken commented one day after USAID administrator Samantha Power cited relief workers as saying that "conditions are worse now than ever before" in Gaza.

Power cautioned on Wednesday that the Israeli military operation in southern Gaza is resulting in "catastrophic consequences" despite what she claimed were efforts by the Biden administration to mitigate the negative effects, with nothing materializing on the ground. To start with, the US has still not resumed UNRWA funding despite finding no evidence corroborating "Israel's" claims of the agency's cooperation with the Palestinian Resistance. 

During a virtual event with governments engaged in the humanitarian response in Gaza, Power remarked, "Despite the currently scaled-back military operations around Rafah and the Egypt/Gaza border, the catastrophic consequences that we have long cautioned about are materializing."

Responding to her statements, Blinken told reporters in Prague that "the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire."

"We've seen changes -- some positive changes -- but the net effect is not there," he stated, without elaborating on what these changes are, especially since aid organizations continue to warn against a worsening situation. 

Blinken claimed that, while the number of assistance trucks entering Gaza has increased "significantly", despite no reports indicating so, distribution remains challenging.

Despite mentioning that the Israeli occupation had seized the Rafah crossing, Blinken made no mention of how the most challenging part was the constant blocking of aid from the Israeli side and the failure of the US to act against its ally.

Related News

China accuses US of cyberattacks on national time center

Hamas rejects US accusations of ceasefire violations in Gaza

This is happening as Israeli tanks continue raids in the southern city of Rafah despite the International Court of Justice's call to halt the offensive. Since Sunday, Israeli attacks have reportedly resulted in the burning of numerous Palestinians alive, mainly children, seeking shelter in tent camps in Gaza, prompting calls from Washington's allies to cease the military operation permanently.

To make matters worse, the "Israel Land Authority" has notified UNRWA that it must leave its al-Quds location in the Ma’alot Dafna neighborhood within 30 days, as per the Israeli Ynet news site. This follows Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf's approval of a directive to expel the UN agency for allegedly using "state land" without authorization.

Goldknopf announced on Wednesday that the decision, initially proposed in February, had been approved by his ministry’s legal advisor.

In a letter sent to UNRWA on Tuesday, the ILA stated that the agency owes NIS 27,125,280 ($7,326,711.19) for allegedly using land owned by "Israel" without authorization for the past seven years.

US state department falsified report absolving 'Israel' on Gaza aid

Earlier this month, the State Department falsified a report to absolve "Israel" of responsibility for blocking humanitarian aid flows into Gaza, against the advice of its experts, according to a former senior US official who resigned this week.

US State Department official Stacy Gilbert resigned this week over the newly published report claiming "Israel" was not blocking aid into Gaza, according to The Washington Post, citing two officials.

The NSM-20 report concluded that it was "reasonable to assess" that "Israel" had used US weapons in ways "inconsistent" with international humanitarian law but found insufficient concrete evidence to link specific US-supplied weapons to these violations.

Even more controversially, the report stated that the State Department does not "currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance" in Gaza.

This was a high-stakes judgment because, under a clause in the Foreign Assistance Act, the US would be obliged to cut arms sales and security assistance to any country found to have blocked the delivery of US aid.

Former State Department official Josh Paul, who was the first official to resign over Biden's Gaza policy, posted on LinkedIn about Gilbert, "On the day when the White House announced that the latest atrocity in Rafah did not cross its red line, this resignation demonstrates that the Biden Administration will do anything to avoid the truth."

  • Antony Blinken
  • United States
  • war on Gaza
  • Gaza
  • Palestine
  • Israel
  • Israeli occupation
  • Humanitarian aid
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Iran strikes secret Israeli-US bunker under Tel Aviv high-rise

Tel Aviv high-rise struck by Iran hid Site 81, secret US-Israeli base

  • Politics
  • 14 Oct 2025
Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jaafarawi in an undated image in Gaza, occupied Palestine (Social media)

Gaza Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jafarawi killed by collaborators

  • Politics
  • 12 Oct 2025
drop site

New report details extensive Israeli arson in Gaza after ceasefire

  • Politics
  • 13 Oct 2025
Illustration of fists breaking shackles, representing the liberation of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons. (Illustrated by: AL Mayadeen English/Batoul Chamas)

4 prominent Palestinian detainees to be freed: Who are they?

  • Palestine
  • 13 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Iraqi religious leader Sheikh Jawad al-Khalisi on Al Mayadeen Plus, October 18, 2025 (Screengrab)
Politics

Most powerful decision-maker in Iraq is US: Sheikh Al-Khalisi

Flags of Iran, Russia, and China (IRNA)
Politics

Iran, Russia, China confirm: Iran nuclear issue out of UNSC

Member of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc Ali Fayyad speaks to Al Mayadeen, October 18, 2025 (Screengrab)
Politics

Hezbollah, allies will reject direct talks with 'Israel': MP Fayyad

The bodies of killed Palestinians held by "Israel" during the war are downloaded from Red Cross vehicles after their release, at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 15, 2025. (AP)
Politics

From rubble to graveyards, Gaza continues recovering its martyrs

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS