US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Japan on Tuesday for a meeting of G7 foreign ministers to seek a common line on Gaza amid growing calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Blinken, who arrived in Tokyo for two days of talks after his latest whirlwind tour of the Middle East, made no public comments. According to Israeli officials, the Israeli military has continuously bombed Gaza since October 7, when Hamas militants launched an attack that killed 1,400 Israelis, most of them civilians.
The death toll in Gaza has exceeded 10,000, including more than 4,000 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The United States, a key ally of Israel, has opposed calls for a ceasefire and insists that Israel has the right to respond. However, Washington has called for a halt to the fighting.
In Turkey, Blinken said Washington was working very aggressively to increase aid for stranded civilians. Blinken said without giving details that
I think we’ll see in the coming days that aid could increase in significant ways. US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possibility of a strategic pause on Monday, the White House said.