COPENHAGEN, Denmark — US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken on Monday
urged Israel and Hamas to "protect civilians, especially children",
reiterating that Israel "as a democracy has an extra burden" to do
so.
اضافة اعلان
"We'll continue to conduct intensive diplomacy to bring this current
cycle of violence to an end" and "we are ready to lend support, if
the parties seek a ceasefire," Blinken told a press conference in
Copenhagen.
He reiterated Washington's support for Israel's right "to defend
itself".
"So we call on Hamas and other groups in Gaza to end the rocket attacks
immediately."
However, he added that "Israel as a democracy has an extra burden to do
everything possible to avoid civilian casualties."
That includes journalists, Blinken said, referring to an Israeli air strike
on Saturday that destroyed a building in the Gaza Strip housing international media
outlets Al Jazeera television and US news agency The Associated Press.
The top US diplomat reiterated Washington's concerns about protecting the
media, but stopped short of condemning the strike.
He said Washington had requested Israel provide "additional details
regarding the justification" for the strike.
Blinken said he had not personally seen any information shared by Israeli
authorities, and therefore did not want to comment on the legitimacy of the
strike.
"Israel has a special responsibility to protect civilians in the course
of its self-defense, and that most certainly includes journalists," he
said.
Blinken also defended Washington's move to block a
UN Security Council
declaration calling for an end to the hostilities.
"We're not standing in the way of diplomacy," he stressed.
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