US calls on Israel to enforce and extend ceasefire in Gaza

On November 13, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israel to implement and extend the ceasefire in Gaza to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, as the deadline set by Washington to improve the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory has passed.

Earlier, on October 13, Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to their Israeli counterparts, warning Israel that it needed to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza within the next 30 days, otherwise it would risk violating US laws governing foreign military aid. Therefore, US military aid to Israel could be threatened.

US law requires countries receiving military aid to comply with international humanitarian law and not to impede the provision of that aid.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Brussels, Belgium, Secretary of State Blinken said Israel has taken some steps to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but stressed that much work remains to be done.

According to Mr. Blinken, the US goal is to set a deadline to force Israel to feel the need to act immediately to resolve the serious crisis in Gaza. So far, Israel has implemented 12 of the 15 measures requested by the US, but Mr. Blinken noted that there are still "three big issues" that need to be resolved.

One of the key issues is to extend the ceasefire to ensure humanitarian aid can reach Gazans. The other two are to allow commercial trucks into Gaza and to lift evacuation orders so that people can return to areas after Israel completes its military operations there.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza has become dire since Israel launched a large-scale military operation in the territory following Hamas's offensive against Israel last October.

According to Israeli figures, Hamas's offensive on October 7, 2023, killed at least 1,206 people, mostly civilians. Meanwhile, the health authority in Hamas-run Gaza said that Israel's military campaign in the territory has killed more than 43,665 people, mostly civilians.

On the same day, the Russian President's special representative for the Middle East and African countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, stated that Moscow is always ready to join efforts to continue negotiations on resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Speaking after the first Africa-Russia Ministerial Conference, Mr. Bogdanov affirmed that Russia is ready to support within its capacity, as long as Moscow's efforts are assessed as useful and appropriate to the situation.

Russian officials have been holding contacts with all parties involved in the conflict, including Palestine, Israel and Qatar. Despite the complexity and difficulties of the situation, Russia has pledged not to give up its intervention or assistance in resolving the issue.