U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging the leaders to allow humanitarian aid to the region and affirmed his support for efforts to protect civilians.
The weekend calls in Washington came as the U.S. said it was moving up a second carrier strike group in support of Israel, while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken intensified diplomatic outreach across the Middle East and beyond to rally an international response to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from expanding.
The broad U.S. efforts reflect the international concern about the number of civilians at risk and the potential ramifications of a prolonged war as Israel told Gaza residents to move south and Hamas urged people to remain in their homes. The Biden administration has not publicly urged Israel to restrain its response after the Hamas attack a week ago, but has emphasized the country's commitment to following the rules of war.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin thanks crew members at the Nevatim Air Base in the desert in Israel, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. Austin, the second high-level U.S. official sent by President Joe Biden to visit Israel in two days, visited the base Friday afternoon and saw firsthand some of the weapons and security assistance that Washington rapidly delivered to Israel after it was attacked.
Blinken also called Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to seek his country's help in preventing the war from spreading, asking Beijing to use whatever influence it has in the Mideast. Blinken's spokesman declined to characterize Wang's response but said the U.S. believes it and China have a shared interest in the region's stability.
A U.S official said Saturday that Washington did not ask Israel to slow or hold off on the evacuation plan. The official said the discussions with Israeli leaders did stress the importance of taking into account the safety of civilians as Israel's military moved to enforce the evacuation demand. While in Abu Dhabi, Blinken visited the Abrahamic Family House, a complex consisting of a church, a mosque and a synagogue representing the three Abrahamic faiths. He signed a tile with the words"Light in the Darkness."
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
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