Blinken, UN aid coordinator discuss facilitating humanitarian assistance to northern Gaza

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Monday with the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Gaza on facilitating humanitarian assistance to the northern part of the Gaza Strip, according to the State Department.

Blinken and Sigrid Kaag, the United Nations Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, “underscored the importance of strengthening the coordination mechanism delivering humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and facilitating assistance to the northern part of the Gaza Strip to enable the return of displaced people,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

“They emphasized a shared commitment to reach the most vulnerable, including urgently expanding the entry of aid and commercial goods into Gaza, increasing use of localized aid to meet immediate needs, and enhancing funding for humanitarian assistance,” he added.

The phone call came as Israel has signaled that it is ready to end its bombardment of northern Gaza, saying it has finished dismantling the Palestinian group Hamas’ military framework there.

Blinken is on an official visit to the region until Jan. 11 that includes Türkiye, Greece, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.

His tour comes at a time when the Israeli army has waged a devastating war on Gaza since Oct. 7 that has resulted in the killing of at least 23,084 Palestinians and the wounding of 58,926 others.

Israeli authorities claim that attacks by Hamas have killed around 1,200 Israelis.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicines.