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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated Washington's support for Israel in the ongoing conflict with Hamas and said that while Israel has the right to defend itself, but as democracies, there is the responsibility to protect civilians.
He made the remarks while departing for his visit to six countries in the Middle East and Asia. Speaking to reporters, Blinken said, "Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself and to try to make sure what happened never happens again. No country would tolerate the slaughter of their civilians. We stand behind that but as democracies, US, and Israel have responsibilities to protect civilians who are caught in harm's way". Blinken stated that Hamas deliberately uses civilians as human shields and puts weaponry underneath schools and hospitals making the task "incredibly challenging" but one has to rise to that responsibility. "Hamas cynically, monstrously and deliberately using men, women and children as human shields. Hamas puts their fighters, weapons, and ammunition underneath hospitals, schools and mosques," Blinken said. He added, "This makes it incredibly challenging but we have to rise to that responsibility and we will talk about concrete steps that should be taken to minimise harm to men, women and children in Gaza and this is something US is committed to". US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will embark on a visit to six nations namely; Israel, Jordan, Japan, South Korea and lastly, India. In Israel, Blinken will reiterate US support for Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism consistent with international humanitarian law and discuss efforts to safeguard US citizens in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. He will also work to secure the immediate release of hostages, increase the pace and volume of humanitarian assistance entering Gaza for distribution to Palestinian civilians, and prevent the conflict from spreading. During his visit to India, Blinken will be accompanied by US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. The US delegation will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other senior Indian officials to discuss both bilateral and global concerns and developments in the Indo-Pacific. (ANI)
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