US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke last night with the minister from the wartime Israeli cabinet formed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the beginning of the conflict with the radical Palestinian group "Hamas" in the Gaza Strip - Benny Gantz, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
The agency cited a statement from the US State Department. According to him, Blinken reiterated the position of US President Joe Biden regarding a "large-scale operation" in the southern city of Gaza on the border with Egypt - Rafah.
Earlier yesterday, the White House National Security Council said its position on the planned offensive by Israeli forces had always been "clear and consistent".
Blinken and Gantz also discussed the importance of Israel and Egypt reaching an agreement to open the Rafah border crossing, which is closed on the Palestinian side, as soon as possible, they added. from the State Department. On May 7, Israeli forces established control there.
The US State Department also announced that Blinken also spoke by phone with German Foreign Minister Analena Berbock. With her, the first US diplomat discussed the "challenges" by China, including Beijing's aid to Russia's military industry.
The main subject of the conversation between Blinken and Berbok was the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Access to humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip has been extremely limited since Israel began a military operation in the area of the southern city of Rafah on May 7, with just under a thousand truckloads of supplies entering the enclave since then, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA, citing a UN statement.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced that between May 7 and 23, only 996 trucks were allowed into the enclave of 2.3 million people, where a catastrophic famine has occurred during the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority " ;Hamas".
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said about 800 of the trucks in question were loaded with food. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs specified that 143 trucks passed through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom border checkpoint, 62 cargo vehicles were allowed through the Erez checkpoint, and 604 through the checkpoint. "Erez West".
97 trucks entered the coastal territory with supplies from the US-built temporary floating port near the Gaza coast, which opened a week ago, Reuters said. The point "Rafah" has been closed on its Palestinian side since May 7, when Israeli forces established control there.
Meanwhile, the police in Los Angeles made the first arrest in connection with the attack on a pro-Palestinian student tent camp at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) complex, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA, specifying that this it happens three weeks after the event.
Video footage shows a man hitting protesters with a wooden stake, US authorities said. The man, identified as 18-year-old Eden Onn, was taken into custody in Beverly Hills on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Los Angeles police said in a statement last night.
On May 1, the university management canceled all classes after a violent clash at night between the campers and a group of masked counter-protesters who carried out a surprise attack, Reuters recalls.
The anti-Palestinian demonstrators were defined by the police as "instigators" of the conflict, in which both sides were hit and sprayed with pepper spray. The masked attackers were armed with batons and stakes.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators claim that their opponents threw bombs at the tents. California Governor Gavin Newsom then criticized the police for the way they responded to the confrontation, according to Reuters. Police subsequently broke up the tent camp on UCLA's campus.