As Israel gears to enter Gaza City, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met and held discussions with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on hostage situation and finding ways to de-escalate the ongoing conflict.
The meeting with the FM lasted for nearly three hours. Though there was not a joint statement, reports said US stressed the Turkish officials to put pressure on Hamas to release the hostages. However, Turkey made it clear the release should be mutual, where the Hamas releases hostages and Israel releases Palestinian prisoners.
An unconditional ceasefire was also sought by Turkey. With Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu firm on his stand that there will not be any ceasefire without release of hostages, Arab leaders are finding it difficult to support US’s proposal.
US proposed for humanitarian pauses to Israel’s continuous military campaign in Gaza. Building support for the proposal, Blinken has travelled from Jordan, Cyprus, the occupied West Bank and Iraq
Blinken's visit comes as Israeli troops surrounded Gaza City and the Strip cut into two--north and south. Troops are expected to enter the city Monday or Tuesday and are likely to face direct combat with militants.
So far over 9,700 Palestinians were killed in the Hamas attack since October 7.
The humanitarian pauses in the war was to enable more inflow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the release of hostages captured by Hamas.
During Blinken's visit, many protesters held up anti-US and anti-Israel placards as the Blinken-Fidan meeting got underway. Pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with Turkish riot police outside the US-Turkish Incirlik military air base in Adana, in southern Turkey.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators show their hands painted in red as they shout slogans during a protest against U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Turkey, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, near the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Ankara Turkey | Reuters
Arab and Muslim nations demanded an immediate cease-fire as the death toll rose in Gaza.
Amid tensions, Jordan and Turkey have recalled their ambassadors to Israel to protest its tactics and the tide of international opinion appears to be turning sympathy toward Israel.
Meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been issuing messages about Gaza aimed at the US through social media channel.
"The Muslim world must increase political pressure on the US and the Zionist regime to end the massacre of people in Gaza," it said.
"As an important country in the region, Iraq can play a major role in putting political pressure on the US and the occupying regime to stop the massacre of people in Gaza and also in starting a new approach in the Arab and Muslim world," it added.
On Saturday, in a joint news conference with Blinken, Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers said self-defense and could no longer be justified as it now amounted to collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
After Turkey visit, Blinken will head to Asia where the Gaza conflict will likely share top billing with other international crises at a series of events in Japan, South Korea and India, including Russia's war on Ukraine and North Korea's nuclear weapons program, reported The Associated Press.
