US Secretary of State Blinken meets with Palestinian President Abbas

According to a written statement from the US State Department, US Secretary of State Blinken met with Palestinian President Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

During the meeting, Blinken discussed ongoing efforts to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and said he condemned extremist violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and would continue to insist that those responsible be held accountable.

The two also expressed the urgent need for measures to increase the security and freedom of Palestinians in the West Bank.

Blinken also said the United States is committed to taking concrete steps toward establishing a Palestinian state.

Minister Blinken met with President Isaac Herzog today and stated that detailed talks would continue with the Israeli government on the road map forward in the Gaza Strip.

Blinken, who also met with Netanyahu and Israel’s War Cabinet, stated that the United States supports Israel’s “right to defend itself in accordance with international law” and stated that before any military operation carried out in the southern Gaza, civilians there must be protected and he emphasized that their needs must be taken into account.

LATEST SITUATION IN GAZA

While Hamas’s armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, launched a comprehensive attack on the morning of October 7, claiming to “respond to Israel’s continued violations against the Palestinians and their sacred values, especially the Masjid al-Aqsa”, the Israeli army launched intense aerial bombardments on the Gaza Strip.

It was announced that 1,200 Israelis, including more than 310 soldiers, were killed and 5,132 people were injured in the attacks in Israel on October 7. According to the Israeli army, 70 Israeli soldiers have been killed in clashes in Gaza and 6 on the Lebanese border since October 7.

According to the Gaza government, the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7 has exceeded 15,000, including more than 6,150 children and more than 4,000 women.

Since October 7, 248 Palestinians have lost their lives in attacks by Israeli forces and Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

The Israeli army attacked the campuses or main buildings of dozens of hospitals in Gaza, where tens of thousands of wounded and civilians took refuge, and raided some hospitals during the occupation. Hundreds of people were killed and injured in the attacks.

85 Hezbollah members have been killed in clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah on the border since October 8.

POWER EXCHANGE BETWEEN HAMAS AND ISRAEL

The agreement regarding a four-day “humanitarian pause” in the fighting between Israel and Hamas came into force at 07:00 (08:00 GMT) on Friday, November 24.

As part of the prisoner exchange agreement under the “humanitarian peace” agreement between Israel and Hamas, 73 Israeli prisoners, one of whom is a man and the others are women and children, have been released from the Gaza Strip. Gaza and 210 Palestinian women and children have so far been released from Israeli prisons.

Qatar announced on November 27 that the “humanitarian pause” had been extended by another two days as a result of mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel.

While the Israeli army announced that the “humanitarian pause” had been extended on November 30 without specifying a date, Hamas announced that the pause had been extended by one day. (AA)