Antony Blinken meets Saudi foreign minister, says Hamas 'not representative' of Palestinians
File photo.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday (Oct 14) met Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan, and both leaders held a joint press conference on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. During the briefing, Blinken said that Hamas is not a representative of the Palestinian people or their legitimate aspirations for future. "Hamas is a terrorist group and its only agenda is to destroy Israel and murder Jews. And it is important that the entire world sees it as such. This is an important moment for more clarity when it comes to Hamas," Blinken said.
He added that no country can or should be expected to tolerate what Israel has just been on the receiving end of. "It is important that all of us look out for civilians, and we're working together to do exactly that. In particular, working on establishing safe areas in Gaza, working on establishing corridors so that humanitarian assistance can reach people who need it," the US Secretary of State said.
Click here to follow LIVE updates on the Israel-Hamas war
Blinken also pointed out that no one wants to see suffering by civilians in Israel, Gaza or anywhere else.
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Need to quickly de-escalate situation: Saudi foreign minister
During the joint briefing, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan said there is a need to find a way to quickly de-escalate the Israel-Hamas war by "at least stopping the guns and working towards addressing the cause of humanitarian challenges."
"I have to emphasise that humanitarian situation in Gaza is very difficult. We need to work together to make sure that access to humanitarian relief is allowed...We need to work together to find a way out of the cycle of violence..." Prince Bin Farhan said.
Echoing Blinken's remarks, Prince Farhan added that everyone condemns the targeting of civilians in any form, and the priority now needs to be to stop further civilian suffering.
Total casualties in war over 3,500
According to a report by the news agency Reuters on Saturday, around 1,300 civilians have been killed on the Israeli side, and Gaza authorities said more than 2,200 people have been killed, a quarter of them children.
The ongoing war has intensified with thousands of Palestinians fleeing the north of the Gaza Strip as Israel is expected to launch a ground assault. Israel has already pounded the area with more air strikes and said it would keep two roads open to let people escape.
Israel had given the entire population of the northern half of the Gaza Strip, which includes the enclave's biggest settlement Gaza City, until Saturday morning to move south. Meanwhile, Hamas told people not to leave and said the two roads Israel has declared open are unsafe.
(With inputs from agencies)
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