By Nour Abu Eisha
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Ismail Haniyeh, the political bureau chief of Palestinian group Hamas, on Friday urged US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to focus his new regional tour to stop Israel's attacks on Gaza, which have killed more than 22,000 people besides causing mass displacement, hunger and disease.
"We hope that Blinken learned from the lessons of the past three months, and realized the scale of the mistakes the US did by providing blanket support" to Israeli, Haniyeh said in a video message.
"We hope that he focuses on ending the aggression, and ending the occupation of all the Palestinian territories," he added.
Haniyeh urged the officials of the Arab and Islamic countries, whom Blinken will meet, "to convey that the future of the region and its stability are closely related to the Palestinian cause which can't be bypassed."
"The [Palestinian] people and resistance won't accept the occupation to keep suffocating us," he said.
Blinken started his regional tour from Türkiye on Friday evening, and will also visit Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt and the West Bank until Jan. 10.
"I’m returning to the region to engage in additional diplomacy on the situation in Gaza," the US secretary of state said on X. "I will continue to urge the protection of civilian life and work intensely with partners to secure the release of hostages and ensure sustained delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza."
Israel has continued its relentless attacks on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 cross-border incursion by Hamas.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar