US Working ‘Very Aggressively’ To Get More Aid Into Gaza- Blinken

75

US Working ‘Very Aggressively’ To Get More Aid Into Gaza- Blinken

By AFP

 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Washington was working “very aggressively” to substantially expand the amount of aid reaching trapped civilians in Gaza.

Blinken held 2.5 hours of one-on-one talks in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan that focused on ways to relieve the humanitarian toll of the Israel-Hamas war.

“We are working, as I said, very aggressively on getting more humanitarian assistance into Gaza and we have very concrete ways of doing that,” Blinken told reporters before boarding a plane for Japan.

“I think we will see in the days ahead that the assistance can expand in significant ways,” he said without providing details.

Blinken was visiting Turkey following a whirlwind tour of the Middle East during which he heard a chorus of Arab calls for an immediate ceasefire.

The top US diplomat said a “pause could help” ensure more aid reaches civilians.

“We know the deep concern here (in Turkey) for the terrible toll… in Gaza and its civilians, a concern that we share, that we are working on every single day. We engage the Israelis on the steps that they can take to minimise civilian casualties,” Blinken said.