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Bliken assures that Israel has not communicated to the US the start date of the operation on Rafá
April 9 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United Kingdom Foreign Minister, David Cameron, warned this Tuesday that the international community must be prepared for a “plan B” if the hostage negotiations between Hamas and Israel do not go ahead, which is none other than the operation on a large scale over the city of Rafá.
“We have to be aware that if it doesn't work, we have to think of a plan B. What can humanitarian organizations do to guarantee that, if there is a conflict in Rafah, people can be safe?” press conference with the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in Washington.
Cameron has indicated that the objective is to achieve a temporary pause in the fighting to facilitate an exchange of hostages for prisoners and ultimately lead to a permanent ceasefire, coupled with the expulsion of Hamas from Gaza. “That is the way to have a political process that ends the war,” he said.
Likewise, he has pointed out the need to bring more aid to the Gaza Strip and has called on Israel to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian trucks, open the border crossings and reconnect the water supply.
For his part, Blinken has assured that the Israeli side has presented Hamas with a “very serious offer” that it “should accept” in order to “end everything immediately and achieve a ceasefire that would benefit the people of Gaza.”
“The fact that he continues not to say 'yes' is a reflection of what he really thinks about the people of Gaza,” Blinken reproached Hamas. “The ball is in their court. The world is watching,” said the Secretary of State, who has downplayed Israel's responsibility for the humanitarian situation.
“Much of the understandable outrage and anger is directed at Israel over the plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, but some of that may also have to be directed at Hamas. I am surprised that the world is almost deafeningly silent when it comes to Hamas,” he complained.
In turn, Blinken has also stated that the Israeli side has not communicated to the United States the planned date for the much-announced large-scale operation in Rafah, where around a million people are trapped fleeing the devastated north of the country. Gaza Strip.
“I don't see anything imminent,” Blinken said a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that a date had already been decided. However, the head of White House diplomacy trusts that Israel will not make any decision until they meet again next week.
