Blinken says 'much more' needs to be done to protect civilians in Gaza

Secretary of State Antony Blinken (D) said Friday that “much more” needs to be done to protect civilians in Gaza.

While in New Delhi, the secretary of State said “far too many” Palestinians have died in Israel’s conflict with Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to The Associated Press.

The White House on Thursday said that Israel agreed to stop operations in Gaza for at least four hours at different times for civilians to evacuate from the area of conflict. Palestinians will be able to head from the northern part of Gaza to the southern part. Additionally, a second safe corridor will be established.

Blinken said the actions by Israel “will save lives and will enable more assistance to get to Palestinians in need,” according to the AP. However, he added, “much more needs to be done to protect civilians and to make sure that humanitarian assistance reaches them.”

"Far too many Palestinians have been killed, far too many have suffered these past weeks, and we want to do everything possible to prevent harm to them and to maximize the assistance that gets to them," Blinken said, according to AP.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in a briefing with reporters Thursday that Israel will announce the pauses in operations three hours in advance.

“We’ve been told by the Israelis that there will be no military operations in these areas over the duration of the pause, and that this process is starting today.” 

The Hill was told by an Israeli official that the purpose of the pause is “to allow people to move to the south, to get food and medicine.”