In an attempt to broker a fresh ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken touched down in Saudi Arabia on Monday as part of his ongoing tour of the Middle East’s crises. The fighting in Gaza has not abated.
Blinken landed in Riyadh on his fifth journey to the region since the war began on October 7th, when Hamas launched its onslaught. He was scheduled to visit Israel as well as the mediators, Egypt and Qatar, thereafter.
He emphasized the importance of “urgently addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza” before to the trip, following the repeated warnings from aid organizations about the terrible effects that the nearly four months of fighting had left on the besieged Gaza Strip.
“The situation is indescribable,” said Said Hamouda, a Palestinian who fled his home to the southern Gaza city of Rafah on the border with Egypt.
Dubbed a “pressure cooker of despair” by the United Nations, Rafah now hosts more than half of Gaza’s population, displaced due to Israel’s assault.
Over the weekend, Israel pressed further south towards the densely-crowded border city, warning that its ground forces could advance on Rafah as part of the campaign to eradicate Hamas.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “a complete victory will deal a fatal blow” to Hamas but also to other Iran-backed militant groups across the region.
Israeli attacks between Sunday night and Monday killed at least 128 people, according to the health ministry in the zone controlled by Hamas. In the districts of eastern Rafah and Khan Yunis, where Israel says high-ranking Hamas officials are hiding, witnesses told AFP they heard artillery shelling.
Israel is reportedly bombarding the center and south of the coastal strip, according to Hamas, and its armed wing said that its militants have attacked forces close to Gaza City.
The Israeli military reported that throughout the previous week, forces in northern and central Gaza had killed “hundreds of terrorists” and were actively battling Hamas militants in the Khan Yunis.
