The United States assured this Wednesday that it works “actively” with Israel and Egypt to establish a humanitarian corridor that allows the exit of civilians from the Gaza Strip in the midst of clashes with the terrorist group Hamas.
“We support a safe corridor for civilians,” said the spokesman for the United States Security Council, John Kirbyat a press conference, adding that civilians are protected under international law and “They are not responsible for what Hamas has done.”
Likewise, he stressed that “there have been no meetings or discussions” in recent hours with the Palestinian Authority, although the United States maintains an open and sustained line of communication over time with the Palestinian side.
On the other hand, Kirby said that Washington will mobilize a second aircraft carrier, the ‘USS Dwight Eisenhower’towards Atlantic waters with the option of being able to transfer it, “if necessary”, to the eastern Mediterranean, where the ‘USS Gerald R. Ford’ is already located.
However, he specified that the decision has not been made yet. “It is a message that the United States is prepared to act if any hostile actor tries to escalate or aggrandize the war against Israel”he added.
The United States ruled out, for the moment, the deployment of its troops on the ground although it has mobilized a aircraft carrier to deter other actors such as Iran either Hezbollah to join the attacks and recently added that he is ready to send a second support ship “if necessary”.
For his part, the North American Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkenwho will land in Israel on Thursday to talk with the Israeli authorities, has also referred to the dialogue with Israel and Egypt about the corridors, adding that it is being a “complicated” process.
The head of North American diplomacy announced that, once landing in Israel, he will hold a meeting with the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The Secretary of State’s visit to Israel follows those of the foreign ministers of the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
The senior American diplomat has asserted that “the United States supports Israel,” and has pointed out that what differentiates Hamas from the democracies of the world is, precisely, “respect for International Law.”
“We do everything we can to ensure that we avoid civilian casualties in these situations. “That is in direct contrast to Hamas, which uses people as human shields,” he added.
On the other hand, Blinken referred to the number of Americans killed in Israel since the Hamas attack over the weekend. The White House has raised this figure to 22 people, and the Secretary of State has warned that “This number could still increase, and probably will increase.”
“At the same time, we have several Americans who remain missing (…) “We are working very closely with the Government of Israel to determine their whereabouts and, if Hamas has taken them hostage, work to secure their release,” he said.
The American Secretary of State plans to take advantage of his trip to Israel to also visit the neighboring country Jordan. At the moment it is not clear whether Blinken will travel to other Middle Eastern countries during his stay in the region.
(With information from Europa Press)
Source-www.infobae.com