34m ago / 8:43 AM UTC
Humanitarian situation in Gaza ‘remains catastrophic’: UN official
Gaza’s humanitarian situation “remains catastrophic,” said Tor Wennesland, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic and requires the urgent entry of additional aid and supplies in a smooth, predictable, and continuous manner to alleviate the unbearable suffering of Palestinians in Gaza,” Wennesland said in a statement.
“I reiterate the Secretary-General’s call for a full humanitarian ceasefire, for the benefit of the people of Gaza, Israel, and the wider region,” he added.
34m ago / 8:43 AM UTC
Blinken to travel to Israel, Dubai and West Bank
After he travels to Brussels for the meeting of NATO foreign ministers, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Israel, the occupied West Bank and Dubai this week, a senior administration official said.
In his meetings in the Middle East, Blinken is expected to stress the need to sustain the increased flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, secure the release of all hostages and improve protections for civilians in Gaza, the official said.
He will also discuss the principles he laid out in Tokyo for the future of Gaza and the need to establish an independent Palestinian state, according to the official.
At a news conference in Tokyo earlier this month, Blinken said a future Gaza “must include Palestinian-led governance.” He also said there must be “a pathway to Israelis and Palestinians living side by side and states of their own, with equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity and dignity.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
