The American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on “Hamas” to accept without delay the proposal for a cease-fire with Israel, related to the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, reported France Presse, quoted by BTA.
"Let there be no more delays, no more excuses. Action must now be taken,'' Blinken told media representatives during his visit to Jordan before departing for Israel – another stage of his seventh tour in the Middle East since the beginning of the war between Israel and “Hamas” in the Gaza Strip.
Blinken also reported that today they are scheduled to depart from Jordan via the Eretz crossing. the first humanitarian aid trucks for the Gaza Strip. The point was opened by Israel.
The US secretary of state said that there is a direct connection between Jordan and northern Gaza through the Eretz, and described it as real and important progress, but added that there is still much to be done.
At the same time, the head of the UN Antonio Guterres said that an Israeli military offensive against the city of Rafah in the southern part of Gaza would be an unacceptable escalation, France Press reported.
"An Israeli military assault on Rafah would constitute an unacceptable escalation, in which thousands more civilians would be killed and hundreds of thousands more forced to flee,” Guterres warned. He urged the Israeli authorities not to undertake such a thing.
Guterres also called for an independent investigation into the sites where mass graves were reportedly found. He expressed deep concern over the discovery of mass graves in two hospitals in Gaza. “It is urgent that international independent experts gain immediate access to these sites to establish the exact circumstances under which Palestinians lost their lives and were buried or reburied,” Guterres said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, said that Israel will enter Rafah with or without a ceasefire agreement with “Hamas”, France Press reported.
"The idea of stopping the war before we have achieved our goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and eliminate the battalions of “Hamas”, with or without a ceasefire agreement, to achieve total victory”, Netanyahu told representatives of the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.