Blinken announces $135 million in additional US aid for Palestinians

WASHINGTON — 

In a latest diplomatic propulsion to extremity the conflicts successful the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that negotiators volition conscionable "in the coming days.” He besides announced $135 cardinal successful further U.S. assistance for Palestinian civilians.

“In referring to negotiators coming backmost together, that was referring specifically to negotiations connected the instrumentality of hostages and a cease-fire for Gaza, and that is the full absorption of their work. Separate from that is enactment that we're doing, besides precise intensely, connected Lebanon to scope a diplomatic resolution,” Blinken said during a property league successful Doha alongside Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

The United States is successful discussions with determination counterparts connected a program that allows Israel to retreat from Gaza, ensures that Hamas cannot reconstitute and supports the Palestinian radical successful governing, securing and rebuilding Gaza.

More humanitarian aid

“Today, we're announcing an further $135 cardinal successful humanitarian assistance, water, sanitation, maternal wellness for Palestinians successful Gaza, successful the West Bank, arsenic good arsenic successful the region,” Blinken said.

He emphasized the urgency of addressing the humanitarian situation successful Gaza, noting the bonzer challenges faced regular by radical there. “That's each the much urgent with wintertime approaching,” Blinken said.

This announcement brings full U.S. humanitarian assistance to much than $1.2 cardinal since Oct. 7 of past year.

Meanwhile, France hosted an planetary league Thursday successful Paris to rise funds to assistance those affected by the warfare betwixt Israel and Hezbollah successful Lebanon.

France announced a pledge of $108 million, portion Germany said it is contributing $103 cardinal for assistance successful Lebanon.

Cease-fire talks

It remains unclear whether Hamas is prepared to prosecute successful the upcoming cease-fire talks aft the decease of its leader, Yahya Sinwar.

Al Thani told reporters, “We are intimately coordinated with Egypt connected immoderate benignant of initiatives that volition look connected the table. Today, determination [is] an ongoing treatment betwixt Egypt and Hamas. We anticipation that these discussions volition output to thing positive. And the treatment that volition travel afterward, it volition beryllium a follow-up for that.”

Al Thani added that U.S. negotiators volition conscionable soon with Israeli counterparts successful Doha to effort a breakthrough.

After holding talks successful Israel and Saudi Arabia this week, Blinken met Thursday with Al Thani up of discussions with Arab officials connected Friday successful London.

Earlier this week, a study by the U.N. Conference connected Trade and Development painted a grim representation of the economical interaction of the Israeli subject cognition successful Gaza from October 2023 to May 2024.

The study said that adjacent if the warfare were to extremity time and Gaza returned to its preconflict conditions, it could inactive instrumentality 350 years for Gaza's devastated system to retrieve to its already-fragile prewar state.

‘Generals’ Plan’

On Thursday, Blinken renewed the United States' absorption to immoderate Israeli reoccupation of post-war Gaza and "fully and fundamentally" rejected the alleged Generals’ Plan, a connection by retired Israeli generals allegedly aimed astatine blocking humanitarian assistance to bluish Gaza to starve retired Hamas terrorists.

Blinken besides said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured him during their meetings that this is not the argumentation of the Israeli government. "The authorities of Israel says that it is not the argumentation of Israel," Blinken told reporters.

In a video connection to the Paris assistance conference, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an contiguous cease-fire and urged meaningful steps toward afloat implementation of Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701, which telephone for the semipermanent disarmament of Hezbollah and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon.

Guterres noted that much than 1.2 cardinal radical person been displaced oregon affected successful Lebanon.

“I telephone connected Lebanon's leaders to instrumentality resolute steps toward ensuring afloat functional authorities institutions to code the country's pressing governmental and information challenges,” Guterres said.

On the battlefields

Israel’s subject said Thursday it conducted a caller circular of airstrikes against Hezbollah weapons accumulation sites successful Beirut’s confederate suburbs.

Lebanon’s subject said 3 of its soldiers were killed successful an Israeli onslaught portion they were conducting a rescue cognition adjacent the colony of Yater successful confederate Lebanon.

Israel has said its combat is with Iran-backed Hezbollah, not Lebanon, successful a struggle that has raised fears of wider determination hostilities.

Medics successful Gaza said an Israeli onslaught deed a schoolhouse that was being utilized arsenic a structure successful Nuseirat, sidesplitting astatine slightest 16 people.

On different beforehand Thursday, Syria’s Defense Ministry said Israeli airstrikes deed Damascus, sidesplitting astatine slightest 1 worker and injuring 7 different people.

Israel seldom comments connected strikes against targets successful Syria, but it has deed Iran-linked targets determination for years arsenic portion of a run to halt weapons transfers to Hezbollah and disrupt Iranian proxies.

The warfare successful Gaza began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas panic onslaught connected confederate Israel, during which the militants killed astir 1,200 radical and took 250 radical arsenic hostages. Hamas is inactive holding astir 100 hostages, with a 3rd of them believed to beryllium dead.

Israel’s counteroffensive successful the Gaza Strip has killed much than 42,847 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, with Israel saying that the decease toll includes respective 1000 Hamas militants.

The United States, United Kingdom, European Union and others person designated Hezbollah and Hamas arsenic violent organizations.

VOA’s Ken Bredemeier, Chris Hannas and United Nations Correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some accusation for this communicative was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.