US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited the Kerem Shalom checkpoint ; on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip today, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA, adding that tank volleys echoed from the enclave during the visit.
The first American diplomat inspected the flow of trucks with humanitarian aid for the Palestinian population in the coastal territory, where Israel has been conducting military operations since October 7 last year.
Then the radical Palestinian group "Hamas" launched a surprise attack on Israeli territory that killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. In response, Israel launched an offensive into the Gaza Strip, where so far according to the Health Ministry of "Hamas" over 34,000 people were killed.
Reuters notes that "Kerem Shalom" Blinken, who was on his seventh tour of the Middle East since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant and other Israeli officials. The topic was Israel's efforts to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Sacks of canned chickpeas, rice, potatoes and toilet paper were waiting to be transferred to the coastal area, some of them bearing the logos of the United Nations and the NGO World Central Kitchen, Reuters said, adding, that soldiers with assault rifles patrolled the area known as the "check cell".
Earlier today, Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding more aid for Gaza, while calling on "Hamas" to accept an agreement that would stop the fighting and lead to the release of some of the hostages held in Gaza by the Islamist movement.