Blinken to meet Palestinian president after pledging continued US support for Israel
Ramallah - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to hold talks Wednesday with the head of the Palestinian Authority, which Washington hopes could govern Gaza after Israel's assault ends.
The United States' top diplomat was on his fourth crisis visit to the Middle East since the siege on the Gaza Strip began, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
Blinken told a news conference afterwards that the United States would continue to support Israel, but also called on its government to do more to protect those trapped in the besieged Palestinian territory, saying the "daily toll on civilians in Gaza, particularly children, is far too high."
Washington has floated a post-war scenario in which a reformed Palestinian Authority, currently led by president Mahmoud Abbas, governs Gaza in addition to the West Bank. The authority currently exercises limited rule in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.
"Israel must stop taking steps that undercut Palestinians' ability to govern themselves effectively," Blinken said Tuesday, emphasizing the importance of progress towards a two-state solution.
"The Palestinian Authority also has a responsibility to reform itself, to improve its governance – issues I plan to raise with president Abbas," he added.
Netanyahu shows no interest in Palestinian state
Netanyahu, however, has shown no interest in reviving negotiations towards a Palestinian state, and an early post-war plan outlined by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant envisions local "civil committees" governing Gaza.
Blinken declined to say on Tuesday whether Netanyahu's views had shifted in their discussions.
Hamas seized sole control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, ousting Abbas' Fatah party, with which it had shared power.
Multiple attempts at reconciliation have failed, but Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said last week he was "open to the idea" of a single Palestinian administration in Gaza and the West Bank.
Jordan's royal palace said King Abdullah II would host Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday for talks on Gaza, including efforts to "push for an immediate ceasefire."
Meanwhile, Israel is poised to face hearings before the International Court of Justice in a case filed by South Africa accusing the country of genocide.
Palestinians under siege "see no hope"
Israel's relentless bombardment and a ground invasion of Gaza have killed at least 23,210 people, mostly women and children, the territory's health ministry said Tuesday.
The ministry announced Wednesday morning that another 70 people were killed and more than 130 wounded in overnight attacks.
The Israeli army announced the death of another soldier early Wednesday, bringing the total killed since its ground invasion began to 186.
The war has displaced the vast majority of Gaza's population, and dire shortages of food, water, and medicine have left hundreds of thousands at risk of famine and disease, the UN and WHO have said.
AFP footage on Tuesday showed a crowd of Gazans rushing towards aid trucks carrying flour and canned goods into Gaza City, in the territory's devastated north, with some climbing up the sides of the vehicles and tossing down food.
"We've been listening to the news for 98 days, hoping that the war will end, but due to this difficult situation we see no hope," Ibrahim Saadat told AFP from a camp for displaced people in the southern border town of Rafah.
"Due to the lack of water, we shower just once per month. Psychologically we are suffering, and diseases have spread everywhere."
Humanitarian aid to Gaza under threat
The WHO warned on Tuesday that its ability to provide aid and support to Gazan hospitals was "shrinking."
During his visit, Blinken called for "more food, more water, more medicine" to be delivered to the territory, and said that Israel had agreed to a UN assessment in the north to "determine what needs to be done to allow displaced Palestinians to return safely."
Israel says it has largely achieved military control over northern Gaza and that operations are focusing further south.
In the southern city of Khan Younis, wounded people, some of them children, were rushed to hospital on Tuesday after a strike hit displaced Palestinians living in tents at Al-Mawasi camp.
"We were chatting under a palm tree, and suddenly we saw stones and shrapnel everywhere," young Lama Abu Gemmayzeh told AFP.
"Some of us started running, and others were on the ground, and we started screaming for ambulances."
Cover photo: REUTERS