Blinken claims US 'working very aggressively' to send aid to Gaza

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Nov 2023 16:21

Blinken describes his visit to Turkey as "very good, lengthy and productive," adding that a humanitarian "pause could help" enter more aid deliveries to Gaza.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the media during a press conference in "Tel Aviv" on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023 (AP)

After conducting almost three hours of one-on-one talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that Washington was working "very aggressively" to ensure massive aid is entered into Gaza for its civilians.

Blinken relayed to reporters post-meeting that the US acknowledges "the deep concern" in Turkey "for the terrible toll" in Gaza, adding, "We are working, as I said, very aggressively on getting more humanitarian assistance into Gaza and we have very concrete ways of doing that," before he boarded a plane to Japan.

"I think we will see in the days ahead that the assistance can expand in significant ways," he concluded.

Blinken's visit caused outrage in Turkey as hundreds rallied outside the Turkish Foreign Ministry during his visit and police applied water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters who marched onto an airbase housing US forces in southeastern Turkey hours before Blinken's arrival.

Pro-Palestinian protesters attempt to storm US air base in Adana, Turkey, shortly before US Secretary of State Blinken's arrival in Ankara. Police use tear gas and water cannons. pic.twitter.com/QvpwtgYehi
— Michael Weingardt (@Michael_Wgd) November 6, 2023

'A pause could help'

On his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself traveled across Turkey's remote northeast on Monday in what seemed like a snub of the US top diplomat.

Two days ago, Erdogan confirmed to reporters that Turkey is no longer considering Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as its "interlocutor," but the head of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization, Ibrahim Kalin, remains in contact with "Israel".

A Turkish diplomatic source claimed that Fidan pressured Blinken for "an immediate ceasefire in Gaza," noting, "Fidan also pointed out to his US counterpart Blinken that bombing civilian targets and destroying infrastructure in Gaza is unacceptable."

Blinken described his visit to Turkey as "very good, lengthy and productive," adding that a humanitarian "pause could help" enter more aid deliveries to Gaza, and continued to highlight Turkey's "commitment" to accept Sweden into NATO.

Meanwhile, "Israel" stated that a humanitarian pause would be possible to allow in aid on one condition only - when Hamas frees the captives.

Blinken said on Thursday that he would push "Israel" to take "concrete steps" to reduce harm to people in Gaza.

Blinken told reporters, "We will be talking about concrete steps that can and should be taken to minimize harm to men, women, and children in Gaza," claiming that this was something the US was committed to doing.

He even clashed with Arab leaders when he brought up the idea of "humanitarian pauses" in the aggression on Gaza while important Arab allies of the US openly demanded an immediate ceasefire, according to Bloomberg.