Abbas presses Blinken to push for Gaza ceasefire as refugee camp is struck overnight - The Straits Times

RAMALLAH, Palestinian territories - US top diplomat Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to the occupied West Bank on Sunday.

He met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who urged him to persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire, as the death toll in Gaza continues to climb.

A Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson said earlier on Sunday that the Israeli military had struck the Maghazi refugee camp overnight, killing at least 47 people.

In a separate attack, 21 Palestinians from one family, including women and children, were killed in Israeli strikes targeting Gaza overnight, the Health Ministry added.

“We demand that you stop them from committing these crimes immediately,” Mr Abbas told Mr Blinken, demanding an “immediate ceasefire” from Israel.

“There are no words to describe the war of genocide and destruction... (that) our Palestinian people are being subjected (to) in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli war machine, without regard to the rules of international law,” Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted Mr Abbas as telling Mr Blinken.

Foreign ministers from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates met Mr Blinken in Amman on Saturday. They also pushed for Washington to convince Israel to agree to a ceasefire. But Mr Blinken argued that a ceasefire would only allow Hamas to regroup.

He is instead trying to convince Israel to agree to location-specific pauses that would allow much-needed aid to be distributed within Gaza.

“The secretary reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance and resumption of essential services in Gaza, and made clear that Palestinians must not be forcibly displaced,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Mr Abbas has had little sway in Gaza since the Hamas takeover of the enclave in 2007.

Israel says it is targeting Hamas, not civilians, and that the Palestinian group is using residents as human shields.

Gaza health officials said on Sunday that more than 9,770 Palestinians have been killed in the war.

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2023-11-05 10:24:17Z
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