The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has applied the greatest pressure yet on the Israeli government to rethink its strategy in Gaza, calling for localised humanitarian pauses and insisting Israel cannot achieve long-term security solely through military means.
With more than 9,000 Palestinians declared dead in Gaza by the Hamas-run health authorities from the Israeli bombardment, the US’s top diplomat said more needs to be done to “protect Palestinian civilians” in Gaza and that, without that, it risks destroying an eventual possibility for peace.