Blinken: Israel assures US that it will not evict Palestinians from Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to ease the plight of Gaza's civilians.

Speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv, Blinken insisted that "Palestinians must be allowed to return home as soon as conditions allow" and that the United States "rejects any proposals advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside Gaza," according to DW.

He reiterated that "it is vital that Israel achieve its objective that [the Hamas terror attacks of] October 7 can never happen again", and added Netanyahu had assured him that the permanent displacement or resettlement of Gazans was not his government's objective.

The top US diplomat said that the "daily toll of war on civilians in Gaza, particularly on children, is far too high" as Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip continue.

Blinken also said that Israel must "do all it can to remove obstacles" to humanitarian aid reaching Gaza and said “we want this war to end as soon as possible."

He said an escalation of the conflict with Islamist militants Hamas is in no one's interest, and called on Israel to cooperate with the Palestinian Authority (PA) on plans for post-war Gaza, but said the PA also has a "responsibility to reform itself."

"Israel must stop taking steps that undercut the Palestinians' ability to govern themselves effectively," Blinken said in Tel Aviv on January 9.

"Israel must be a partner of the Palestinian leaders who are willing to lead their people and live side-by-side in peace with Israel," he said, insisting that Arab leaders across the region are ready to assist, but only "through a regional approach that includes a pathway to a Palestinian state."

Israel has thus far ruled out calls to allow the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which was ousted from Gaza when Islamist militants Hamas seized power in 2007, to govern Gaza and instead talked about maintaining open-ended military control over the territory.

The US believes a "revitalized" authority should return to govern the enclave.

Israel had agreed in principle on a plan for a UN mission to northern Gaza to assess the situation following the scaling-down of Israeli military operations, and the aim is to pave the way for the safe return of displaced civilians.

Israel has pounded the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, killing at least 23,210 Palestinians, and injuring 59,167 others, according to local health authorities.

Meanwhile, about 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas offensive.
About 85% of Gazans have been displaced, while all of them are food insecure, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and ⁠less than half of aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.