2023-12-02T06:15:25+00:00
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/ US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken seeks to start discussions with Arab countries about the future of the Gaza Strip, coinciding with the end of the truce and Israel resuming its aggression against the Gaza Strip.
Blinken told reporters before boarding his plane back to Washington that the discussions with Arab foreign ministers included the current situation of the Israel-Hamas war, and the ongoing work to deliver more humanitarian aid to the Palestinian Strip.
He added that they also talked about “what will happen the next day in Gaza, and how we can take the path to a lasting and secure peace for Israelis and Palestinians, and indeed for everyone in the region.”
A senior State Department official said before the meeting that Arab countries had previously opposed US attempts to discuss the future of Gaza after Hamas, and demanded an immediate ceasefire instead, but US officials hoped the truce had paved the way for talks.
But the truce collapsed yesterday, Friday, and Blinken did not go into details about how the discussions proceeded, while US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller indicated that Blinken met with a number of Arab foreign ministers, in addition to representatives of the Palestinian Authority on the sidelines of the United Nations climate conference. United Nations “COP 28” in Dubai, at the conclusion of the third visit to the region since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip following the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7.
The senior State Department official stated earlier that Washington wants to begin talks on how to manage the Gaza Strip if Israel succeeds in achieving its goal of eliminating Hamas.
Early Saturday morning, the US State Department said that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urged Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani to protect Americans in the country.
The US State Department stated, in a statement, that Blinken spoke with the Iraqi Prime Minister on Friday, adding that “Blinken called on the Iraqi government to fulfill its obligations to protect all facilities where Americans are located.”