Blinken feels ‘fierce urgency’ to resolve Middle East crisis, says it will need Israeli help not opposition
Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he feels a “fierce urgency” to find a long-term solution for the Middle East, one that satisfies the security concerns of Israel while moving toward a self-governed Palestinian state.
“It’s not like any of this happens over night, it’s not like it’s flipping a light switch,” Blinken said at the World Economic Forum, a summit of government and business leaders in Davos, Swizerland. “As we’re in the midst of human tragedy in so many ways in the Middle East, for Israelis and Palestinians alike, I have to tell you I personally feel the fierce urgency of now.”
In a wide-ranging conversation with New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman, the secretary said such a resolution could only happen “with the help of Israel, not its active opposition,” adding that “the question now is: Is Israeli society prepared to engage on these questions? Is it prepared to have that mindset? That’s challenging.”
One benefit over past conflicts, Blinken added, was that “Arab and Muslim countries are prepared to have a relationship with Israel — in terms of integration, its normalization, its security — that they were never prepared to have before.”
Every single person in Gaza is hungry, U.N. says
The United Nations is raising the alarm about famine in Gaza, saying every single person in the enclave is hungry and a quarter of the population are starving and struggling to find food and drinkable water.
The U.N. also said Gazans now make up 80 per cent of all people facing famine or catastrophic hunger worldwide, which it said makes it “an unparalleled humanitarian crisis” amid continued bombardment by Israel.
Since Jan. 1, only 21 per cent (5 out of 24) of planned deliveries of aid containing food and other lifesaving supplies reached their destination north of Wadi Gaza, the U.N. said, and its experts are particularly alarmed about conditions in northern Gaza, where it said the population faces “prolonged food shortages” and “extremely restricted access to essential resources.”
Pakistan condemns Iranian strike that it says killed 2 children
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistan condemned what it called an “unprovoked” missile strike by Iran, saying two children were killed and warning the incident could have “serious consequences,” as regional instability set off by the Israel-Hamas war continues to worsen.
Iranian state media said missiles and drones had targeted two bases in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan belonging to the militant group Jaish al Adl, which has carried out past attacks against Iranian security forces in the border area between the two countries. The strike yesterday came a day after Iran launched missiles toward Iraq and Syria to deter threats to its security.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had lodged a protest with Tehran and the head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Islamabad, adding that “the responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran.”
Government officials in Balochistan told NBC News that the strike killed two children of local resident Karim Dad, 6-year-old Humera and 11-month-old Salman, and injured four others.
IDF says it killed terror leader planning imminent attack with West Bank airstrike
JERUSALEM — The Israeli army says it killed a senior Palestinian militant in an airstrike in the occupied West Bank.
Ahmed Abdullah Abu Shalal, whom the Israeli military said was responsible for infrastructure and had planned multiple attacks against Israelis in Jerusalem, was killed along with four others early this morning in the built-up Balata refugee camp in the city of Nablus.
The Palestinian Red Crescent says Israeli forces prevented medics from reaching the site of the strike, saying in a social media post that “gunfire was directed at our teams.”
The military alleged that Abu Shalal and his cell planned to carry out an imminent attack and had received funding and guidance from “Iranian sources.” It did not provide evidence for the allegation.
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Violence has surged in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza. Over 350 Palestinians have been killed in the last three months, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, mainly during Israeli arrest raids and violent protests.
Israel has increasingly used airstrikes in the West Bank as the fighting has grown more intense, but targeted killings are still relatively rare in the territory.
Blast at Gaza refugee camp
A Palestinian woman reacts in front of a destroyed building in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza yesterday.
War in Gaza takes heavy toll on children
JERUSALEM — The United Nations is expressing renewed concerns about death from disease and famine. Among the most vulnerable are the estimated 1.1 million children trapped in the war-ravaged enclave.
“Children at high risk of dying from malnutrition and disease desperately need medical treatment, clean water and sanitation services, but the conditions on the ground do not allow us to safely reach children and families in need,” UNICEF Director Catherine Russell said. “The lives of children and their families are hanging in the balance.”
Mohamed Yazji is praying the war will end soon.
In October, his mother was killed in an airstrike and his father disappeared. Mohamed, 13, is doing the best he can to care for seven siblings, including his sister Toleen, who’s just months old.
After fleeing northern Gaza and moving several times, the siblings now call a small tent in the southern Gazan city of Rafah home.
The responsibility is weighing on Mohamed. “I do not know what to do,” he said. “It’s been 100 days, and each day it is more difficult than the one before.”
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Nine-year-old Iyas, unable to see or speak, expresses his pain through muted whimpers and cries. NBC News first met Iyas in October at the Mabarit Rahme Orphanage in Gaza City, where nearly two dozen children, many with severe disabilities, were living. As northern Gaza grew more dangerous, the orphanage staff moved the children south. Some, including Iyas, are now sheltering in a garage in Rafah.
Having debilitating complex needs, Iyas requires regular medication and treatment. But, with only limited medical care, his condition is worsening.
“We’re telling the world that things are getting worse and worse. Our needs are growing, and we can’t meet them,” said Abdullah Mohamed, Iyas’ caretaker. “We could lose Iyas at any moment.”