GAZA STRIP PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for another Middle East crisis tour, hoping to secure a new truce in the Israel-Palestinian war as Gaza saw no let-up in fighting.
On his fifth trip to the region since October 7 attack that triggered the war, Blinken landed in Riyadh and was later expected to visit Israel and mediators Egypt and Qatar. Ahead of the trip he stressed the need for “urgently addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza”, after aid groups have repeatedly sounded the alarm over the devastating impact nearly four months of war have had on the besieged Gaza Strip. “The situation is indescribable,” said Said Hamouda, a Palestinian who fled his home to the southern Gaza city of Rafah on the border with Egypt. Dubbed a “pressure cooker of despair” by the United Nations, Rafah now hosts more than half of Gaza’s population, displaced due to Israel’s assault.
Over the weekend, Israel pressed further south towards the densely-crowded border city, warning that its ground forces could advance on Rafah. At least 128 people were killed in Israeli strikes overnight to Monday, according to the health ministry in Gaza. Witnesses told AFP they heard artillery shelling in the areas of eastern Rafah and Khan Yunis.
