The name "Blinken" has become a verb.
"We will be talking about concrete steps that can and should be taken to minimize harm to men, women, and children in Gaza," Blinken said on Thursday. "When I see a Palestinian child — a boy, a girl — pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building, that hits me in the gut as much as seeing a child from Israel or anywhere else. So this is something that we have an obligation to respond to, and we will."
Blinken is making his third trip to Israel since the Hamas terrorist rampage that ignited the war on Oct. 7 and his first since acknowledging that "humanitarian pauses must be considered" during a Senate appearance this week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has resisted such demands on the grounds that it would benefit Hamas.
"Our answer is no," Israeli Ambassador Michael Herzog, who leads the Israeli Embassy in Washington, told the Jewish People Policy Institute on Thursday. "They should not approach us on that. ... We are not going to talk about a ceasefire in the middle of the war because that means a victory to Hamas."
Israeli forces bombarded the Gaza Strip for weeks in anticipation of a ground offensive. Their stated goal of eradicating the terrorist organization raises the specter of intense urban warfare, which can take a horrendous toll on civilians in any conflict.