Blinken to meet Palestinian leader after urging Israel to spare Gaza civilians

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to hold talks Wednesday with the head of the Palestinian Authority, which Washington hopes could govern Gaza after Israel's war with Hamas ends.

The United States' top diplomat was on his fourth crisis visit to the Middle East since the war in the Gaza Strip began, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

Blinken called on Israel to do more to protect those trapped in the besieged Palestinian territory, saying the "daily toll on civilians in Gaza, particularly children, is far too high".

"Israel must stop taking steps that undercut Palestinians' ability to govern themselves effectively," Blinken also said Tuesday, emphasising the importance of progress towards a two-state solution.

Displacement

The war has displaced the vast majority of Gaza's population, and dire shortages of food, water and medicine have left hundreds of thousands at risk of famine and disease, the UN and WHO have said.

AFP footage on Tuesday showed a crowd of Gazans rushing towards aid trucks carrying flour and canned goods into Gaza City, in the territory's devastated north, with some climbing up the sides of the vehicles and tossing down food.

"We've been listening to the news for 98 days, hoping that the war will end, but due to this difficult situation we see no hope," Ibrahim Saadat told AFP from a camp for displaced people in the southern border town of Rafah.

"Due to the lack of water, we shower just once per month. Psychologically we are suffering, and diseases have spread everywhere."

The WHO warned on Tuesday that its ability to provide aid and support to Gazan hospitals was "shrinking".

During his visit, Blinken called for "more food, more water, more medicine" to be delivered to the territory, and said that Israel had agreed to a UN assessment in the north to "determine what needs to be done to allow displaced Palestinians to return safely".

Story by AFP