The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, has conveyed by telephone to the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmud Abbas, Washington’s “deep condolences” for the attack on the Al Ahli hospital in the Gaza Strip, after has canceled a four-party summit in which the North American president, Joe Biden, was going to participate.
Biden was due to meet Abbas in Amman, at a meeting in which King Abdullah II of Jordan and the president of Egypt, Abdel Fattá al Sisi, were also going to be present. The attack on the hospital, which left half a thousand dead, led to the suspension of the meeting.
Blinken, however, has spoken with Abbas and has emphasized the “continued support” of the United States to the Palestinian people, under the premise that “the Hamas terrorists,” who control the Gaza Strip, “do not represent” the whole of the population nor their “legitimate aspirations” in defense of their own State.
The head of North American diplomacy has also pointed out Washington’s “firm” support for the “laws of war”, which includes protecting civilians also in the event of conflict. Blinken and Abbas have advocated for the “urgent” arrival of humanitarian aid to the Strip, according to a statement from the State Department.
The conversation, which took place late Tuesday, coincides with a visit by Biden to Israel. Before the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the tenant of the White House has supported the version that blames Palestinian militiamen for the launch of the projectile that hit the hospital area.
