The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, stated this Monday (04/29/2024) from Riyadh that so far he has not seen any plan from Israel that guarantees the “effective” protection of civilians against an invasion against the town. Palestinian town of Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, bordering Egypt.
“In the absence of a plan that guarantees that civilians will not be harmed, we cannot support a large-scale military operation in Rafah and we have not yet seen a plan that gives us confidence that civilians can be effectively protected,” he said in the statement. special session of the World Economic Forum (WEF), being held in Riyadh, the first leg of its current tour of the Near East in search of a truce in Gaza.
Blinken expressed hope that Hamas would accept Israel’s “extraordinarily generous” proposal to reach a truce in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages, which includes many of the group’s demands. “Hamas has before it an extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous proposal from Israel,” insisted the head of US diplomacy. “They have to make a decision, and they have to make it quickly… I hope they make the right decision,” he said, appealing to Hamas leaders.
Furthermore, the Secretary of State urged the Arab monarchies of the Gulf to create an integrated defense against the “threat” from Tehran, materialized, according to him, in the confrontation between Iran and Israel. “This attack [en referencia al lanzado contra Israel desde Teherán] highlights the serious and growing threat from Iran, but also the imperative to work together for an integrated defense,” he declared after meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council ministers in Riyadh.
lgc (afp, efe)
