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Blinken Heads to Middle East to Build on Israel-Hamas Cease-fire
Voice of America
24 May 2021, 17:05 GMT+10 STATE DEPARTMENT - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to the Middle East Monday after a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas went into effect early Friday morning.
This is Blinken s first trip to the region as the top U.S. diplomat. He will meet with Israeli, Palestinian, and regional counterparts as part of Washington s efforts to build on the Gaza truce.
The United States said it is committed to working with the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations to provide rapid humanitarian assistance and to gather international support for Gaza and Gaza reconstruction efforts.
May 24, 2021 Share
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to the Middle East Monday after a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas went into effect early Friday morning.
This is Blinken’s first trip to the region as the top U.S. diplomat. He will meet with Israeli, Palestinian, and regional counterparts as part of Washington’s efforts to build on the Gaza truce.
The United States said it is committed to working with the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations to provide rapid humanitarian assistance and to gather international support for Gaza and Gaza reconstruction efforts.
“Our focus right now relentlessly is on dealing with the humanitarian situation, starting to do reconstruction and rebuild, and engage intensely with everyone, with Palestinians, with Israelis, with partners in the region,” Blinken told CNN Sunday.
Xinhua | Updated: 2021-05-24 09:37 Share CLOSE
BAGHDAD - Iraq on Sunday reaffirmed its support for the Palestinian cause, while calling for fostering unity among Palestinian parties via dialogue.
Iraqi leaders made the pledges during their meetings with visiting Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki in Baghdad on Sunday, after a ceasefire ended the 11-day fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
A statement by the media office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said that al-Kadhimi told al-Maliki that Iraq will not abandon the Palestinian cause, which enjoys popular, political, and official support .
Al-Kadhimi also stressed the importance of holding Palestinian dialogue to unify the Palestinian parties, the statement said, adding that al-Kadhimi pledged to support Palestine through regional and international positions and contacts.
Reuters Reuters
24 May, 2021, 2:35 pm
A Palestinian girl carries a boy amid the rubble of their houses which were destroyed by Israeli air strikes during the Israel-Hamas fighting in Gaza May 23, 2021. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
JERUSALEM/GAZA (Reuters) -A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held into a third day on Sunday as mediators spoke to all sides about extending the period of calm after the worst outbreak of fighting in years.
Egyptian mediators have been shuttling between Israel and the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Hamas, to try to sustain the ceasefire and have also met the Islamist group’s rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in the occupied West Bank.