SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, good evening, everyone. I traveled to Israel in the days immediately following the horrific attacks of October 7th. And I made clear then the commitment of the United States to Israel’s security and to ensuring that October 7th could never happen again. I also underscored Israel’s moral, strategic, and legal requirements to protect civilians and provide humanitarian assistance to those who needed it.
Now, of course, what happened after October 7th could have ended immediately if Hamas had stopped hiding behind civilians, released the hostages, and put down its weapons. But Israel is not Hamas. Israel is a democracy; Hamas, a terrorist organization. And democracies place the highest value on human life – every human life. As has been said, whoever saves a life, saves the entire world. That’s our strength. It’s what distinguishes us from terrorists like Hamas. If we lose that reverence for human life, we risk becoming indistinguishable from those we confront.
Here’s the current reality in Gaza. Despite important steps that Israel has taken to allow assistance into Gaza, the results on the ground are woefully insufficient and unacceptable. A hundred percent of the population in Gaza knows acute levels of food insecurity. A hundred percent of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance. And those working heroically to provide that assistance are doing so in great peril to their own lives. This week’s horrific attack on the World Central Kitchen was not the first such incident. It must be the last.
President Biden spoke a short while ago with Prime Minister Netanyahu. The leaders discussed the situation in Gaza. The President emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable. He made clear the need for Israel to announce a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers. He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.
He underscored as well that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians, and he urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home. The two leaders also discussed public Iranian threats against Israel and the Israeli people. President Biden reaffirmed the United States strong support for Israel in the face of these threats and our commitment to Israel’s security.
Right now, there is no higher priority in Gaza than protecting civilians, surging humanitarian assistance, and ensuring the security of those who provide it. Israel must meet this moment.
Now here in Brussels we marked 75 years to the day since the founding of the NATO Alliance. We had our first ministerial meeting with Sweden at the table, a full Ally. There are now 32 members of the NATO Alliance. And that Alliance has continued to adapt, to meet challenges, to meet threats as they’ve emerged.
So while we focused on celebrating the fact that we’ve hit the 75-year mark, we’re intensely focused on the future. We discussed concrete outcomes for the upcoming Washington Summit in July, including increasing our support for Ukraine, strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defense posture, in particular through boosting our defense industrial bases on both sides of the Atlantic, and deepening cooperation with partners, including from the Indo-Pacific.
We also held our second NATO-Ukraine Council. We reaffirmed that Ukraine’s future is in NATO. Our goal now is to create a bridge to Ukraine’s full membership, offering additional support and greater cooperation, as Ukraine makes the reforms necessary to join…
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