Blinken calls Gaza situation 'dire', does nothing to compel 'Israel'
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Blinken was responding to statements made by Samantha Power on Thursday when she called the conditions in Gaza "worse than ever before."
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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.
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."
