UPDATE - US says Gaza conflict needs to move to ‘lower intensity phase’

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM BLINKEN

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said the conflict in Gaza "needs to move" and "will move to a lower intensity phase".

“We expect to see, and want to see, a shift to more targeted operations, with a smaller number of forces that are really focused on dealing with the leadership of Hamas, the tunnel network and a few other different things,” Blinken told reporters during a year-end press briefing.

“As that happens, you’ll see the harm done to civilians decrease significantly,” he said.

“We continue to believe that Israel does not have to choose between removing the threat of Hamas and minimizing the toll on civilians,” he said, adding that the US will continue to help Israel that what happened on Oct. 7 can never happen again.

Blinken said the US is "more determined than ever to ensure that out of this horrific tragedy comes a moment of possibility for Israelis, for Palestinians, for the region, to live in lasting peace and lasting security."

On the worldwide criticism against Israel on the civilian death toll in Gaza, Blinken said “there seems to be silence on what Hamas could do, should do, must do If you want to end the suffering of innocent men, women and children."

"It would be good if the world could unite around that proposition as well," he added.

"What is striking to me is that even as we hear many countries urging an end to this conflict, I hear virtually no one saying, demanding of Hamas that it stop hiding behind civilians, that it lay down its arms, that it surrender," Blinken said. "This would be over tomorrow if Hamas does that."

"How can it be that there are no demands made of the aggressor, and only demands made of the victim. It would be good if there was a strong international voice pressing Hamas to do what is necessary to end this," he added.

Blinken said countries throughout the region as well as countries around the world want to work with the US and looking for American leadership in the crisis. This includes, according to Blinken, even the countries that may disagree with the US.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, killing over 20,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 52,586 others, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while more than 130 hostages remain in captivity.