‘Israel’ to Decide When to End War on Gaza, Blinken Says

By Staff, Agencies

‘Israel’, not the US, will decide when to end its war on Gaza, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The US official made the remarks on Sunday in wake of reports that Washington has been exerting pressure on ‘Israel’ to wrap up operations by the end of the year.

Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper about the war, which has entered its third month, Blinken said that the US has been conducting discussions with ‘Israel’ about its “duration” as well as “how it’s prosecuting this campaign against Hamas.”

“These are decisions for ‘Israel’ to make,” Blinken said.

Addressing the civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip, Blinken said that while he believes that ‘Israel’ has the right “intent” when it comes to minimizing civilian casualties, “the results are not always manifesting themselves, and we see that both in terms of civilian protection and humanitarian assistance.”

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 17,500 people have been martyred, mostly civilians, since the beginning of the ‘Israeli’ war on Gaza.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Blinken defended the emergency sale to ‘Israel’ of nearly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition and called for quick congressional approval of more than $100 billion in aid for ‘Israel’, Ukraine, and other ‘national security priorities.’