Situation in Gaza for Palestinian 'remains dire': US' Blinken

Too many people in Gaza face major hurdles just to fulfill their basic daily needs, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, decrying the "dire" situation in the besieged and blockaded Gaza Strip.

"The situation for men, women and children in Gaza remains dire. Far too many Palestinians have been killed, especially children," Blinken said in remarks posted on X on Sunday amid his current Mideast tour.

"Far too many remain incredibly challenged in terms of their access to food, to water, to medicine, to the essentials of life."

On his tour, Blinken said in a statement that he came to discuss the situation in Gaza with regional partners-including Türkiye-adding: "These are not necessarily easy conversations. There are different perspectives, different needs, different requirements."

"But it is vital that we engage in this diplomacy now, both for the sake of the future for Gaza itself, and more broadly, the sake of the future for Israelis and Palestinians and for the region as a whole," he added.

Saying this is his fourth visit to the region since last Oct. 7, when the current Gaza conflict began, he stressed that they have been focused on preventing the spread of the conflict since day one.

Highlighting that they will discuss with their partners during his visit what can be done to prevent the conflict from spreading, Blinken said they will address the protection of civilians, delivering more humanitarian aid, and releasing the detainees remaining from Hamas' Oct. 7 surprise attack.

- 'To rebuild, to have security, to have Palestinian-led governance '

Emphasizing their focus on steps towards a sustainable, peaceful, and secure future for everyone in the region, Blinken stressed: "That starts with the work that's going to be necessary in Gaza itself to rebuild, to have security, to have Palestinian-led governance."

Blinken last week embarked on a regional tour starting with Türkiye and then moving on to Greece, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

His focus on the bleak humanitarian situation in Gaza seemed to highlight what some analysts see as a growing rift between traditional allies the US and Israel, with Washington urging Tel Aviv to pull back its operation in Gaza to reduce the weighty human cost of some 23,000 lives taken so far.