United States: US Secretary of State Mr. Antony Blinken has called on Israel to take “urgent” steps to end the violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Mr. Blinken made a telephone call with Mr. Benny Gantz, a centrist opposition leader who joined Israeli Prime Minister Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu’s wartime cabinet.
“The US diplomat stressed the urgent need for affirmative steps to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank, including by confronting rising levels of settler extremist violence,” the State Department said in a statement.
The State Department further added that “Mr. Blinken discussed efforts to augment and accelerate the delivery of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, the release of captives held by Hamas, and prevent the war from widening into a broader conflict.”
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OHCA), Israeli settler violence has surged significantly since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, rising from an average of three incidents to seven per day.
Mr. Blinken’s statements came as Israeli forces carried out fresh raids in the occupied West Bank and continued military operations in and around several of Gaza’s major hospitals, forcing them to suspend operations.
According to sources, Israeli forces stormed the northern city of Jenin, deploying snipers, more than 80 military vehicles, and bulldozers in the vicinity of its refugee camp.
In a post on Telegram, the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, stated it was fighting “alongside all the other resistance groups in the camp” and targeting the Israeli army “with heavy fire and explosive devices.”
Residents in Jabalia have sought refuge at a United Nations shelter that is close to the Indonesian Hospital, where services have ground to a halt amid Israeli attacks, and staff and patients are running extremely low on food and water.
Israeli forces also continued to occupy the al-Shifa Hospital, the enclave’s biggest medical facility, where Israeli officials have claimed to have located weapons and other evidence proving the existence of a Hamas command center. Hamas and doctors at the hospital have denied Israeli claims that the complex has been used to stage military operations.
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