Blinken signals change in US policy if Washington does not see changes from Israel

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that “if we don't see the changes that we need to see, there'll be changes to our policy.”

His remarks came in response to a question during a news conference in Brussels about a telephone call between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu where the American leader signaled a possible change in the US policy on Gaza based on the assessment of "specific, concrete, and measurable steps" that needs to be taken by Israel to address humanitarian suffering.

The White House said Biden “made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers.”

"He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps,” it said.

The president threw his weight behind an immediate cease-fire to halt the violence in the coastal enclave.

“This week's horrific attack on the World Central Kitchen was not the first such incident. It must be the last,” said Blinken.

He added that 100% of the population in Gaza faces acute levels of food insecurity and needs humanitarian assistance.

“And those working heroically to provide that assistance are doing so in great peril to their own lives,” said Blinken.

The comments come after Israel carried out strikes Monday on a humanitarian convoy in central Gaza that killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen in what the group's founder called a "direct attack on clearly marked vehicles whose movements were known by the Israel Defense Forces."

The aid workers were nationals of Australia, Poland, the UK and Palestine as well as a US-Canada dual citizen.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive across Gaza in retaliation for the attack, which killed less than 1,200 people and led to roughly 250 hostages being taken back to Gaza as captives. Roughly 130 are still being held.

Nearly 33,000 Palestinians have since been killed and 75,577 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities. Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which last week asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza