WASHINGTON
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday that an escalation in the Middle East was “in neither party’s interest” and urged an “urgent” ceasefire agreement for the Gaza Strip, the State Department said.
“The Secretary of State reiterated the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and discussed that neither party has an interest in escalation,” spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“The Foreign Minister reiterated the urgent need to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that will ensure the release of hostages, enable a flow of humanitarian aid and create the conditions for broader stability in the region,” it said.
He “stressed the importance of reaching a diplomatic solution that would allow both Israeli and Lebanese families to return to their homes,” it said.
In a separate phone call with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, Blinken discussed efforts to “reduce tensions in the region and prevent further escalation of the conflict,” Miller said.
“The Foreign Minister stressed the urgent need to conclude the ceasefire agreement and stressed that no party in the region should take any action that would jeopardise the achievement of a ceasefire,” he added.
On Thursday, mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States called on Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas to resume talks next week in Doha or Cairo.
The renewed efforts come after nearly 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed and more than 91,700 injured in Israel’s response to a Hamas attack on October 7 that killed 1,139 Israelis.
More than ten months after the start of the Israeli attack, large parts of the Gaza Strip lie in ruins and there is a crippling blockade on the supply of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the ICJ has ordered Israel to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before the May 6 invasion.
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