Blinken back in Israel as humanitarian relief efforts remain stalled

The humanitarian situation in Gaza has been rife with confusion over the weekend, with corridors being blocked by Hamas terrorists, Israeli efforts to ensure civilian evacuations being criticized, and the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Strip remaining closed, despite the U.S. exerting great diplomatic pressure.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's weekend of shuttle diplomacy took him from  Israel to Jordan then Egypt, and then passing through Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, before landing back in the Jewish state on Monday.

The United States has attempted to balance unwavering support for the Jewish state, while wrangling Arab countries to participate in humanitarian relief efforts, in particular to free civilian hostages captured by Hamas terrorists, an undetermined number of whom are American.

However, both in the region and in Israel, it seems like the situation behind closed doors is different than the public statements, and even those read differently according to the versions put out by the State Department and the relevant Foreign Ministry.

While Blinken remarked on his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) as “very productive,” the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia released a different statement on the situation, in line with other Middle Eastern countries, which reject civilians being harmed and call for international law to be respected.

A similar situation unfolded in Cairo, after Blinken met with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to discuss efforts “to halt Hamas’ terrorist attacks and to secure the release of hostages, protect civilians, facilitate safe passage of American citizens, and ensure humanitarian aid can reach Palestinian civilians.”

On Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office (PMO) denied international reports that a humanitarian ceasefire was reached, which would have allowed the entry of aid and departure of foreign nationals from the Gaza Strip. Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Israel Katz also publicly opposed such an arrangement.

"Israel has not agreed to give any humanitarian aid to Hamas. We are at war and continue with all our strength - until victory," the PMO added in a later statement.

“Our commitment is to the families of the murdered and the kidnapped hostages - not to the Hamas murderers and those who aided them,” Katz posted on X. The minister previously said that the humanitarian release of civilian hostages could be exchanged for humanitarian aid, calling it “humanitarian for humanitarian.”

Ben-Gvir, on the other hand, demanded that any relief to the Gaza Strip would have to go through a discussion at the government cabinet.