「今こそガザ紛争終わらせるとき」米国務長官、中東歴訪

【テルアビブＡＦＰ＝時事】米国のアントニー・ブリンケン国務長官は２３日、訪問先のイスラエルで「今こそガザ紛争を終わらせるときだ」と述べ、イランとの対立についてもエスカレーションを回避するよう求めた。（写真は、イスラエルのベングリオン国際空港で、報道陣に語る米国のアントニー・ブリンケン国務長官）
　イスラエルは、イランが支援するパレスチナ自治区ガザ地区のイスラム組織ハマス、レバノンのイスラム教シーア派組織ヒズボラと衝突しており、また今月１日のイランによるミサイル攻撃に対しても報復を明言している。
　イスラエル軍は２３日、レバノン南部の地中海沿岸都市ティール市民に向けて退避を呼び掛け、ヒズボラを標的とする作戦が迫っていることを警告した。
　こうした中、ブリンケン氏はガザでの武力衝突が激化して以降１１回目となる今回の中東訪問で、ベンヤミン・ネタニヤフ首相らイスラエルの高官と会談。会談後に「昨年１０月７日以降、イスラエルはガザに関するほとんどの戦略的目標を達成した。今こそ、その成功を持続的な戦略的成功に転換するときだ」と述べた。
　またガザ地区への支援について「進展が見られるのは良いことだが、さらなる進展が必要であり、最も重要なのはそれが持続することだ」と語った。
　他方で、イランによる今月１日のミサイル攻撃への報復を明言していることについては「イスラエルがさらなるエスカレーションを引き起こさない方法で対応することも非常に重要だ」と述べた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/10/23-19:56）

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday now is the time to end the conflict in Gaza, and urged Israel to avoid further escalation with Iran.
Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and has pledged to hit back against Iran's October 1 missile strike.
In Lebanon, AFP correspondents reported several Israeli air strikes on Tyre, after the military warned residents of parts of the coastal city to flee ahead of operations targeting Hezbollah.
The warning sparked a new exodus from the once vibrant city, which is perched on the Mediterranean coast, and AFPTV footage showed plumes of thick black smoke rising from the city after the strikes.
The situation is very bad, we're evacuating people, said Mortada Mhanna, who heads Tyre's disaster management unit.
You could say that the entire city of Tyre is being evacuated, said Bilal Kashmar, the unit's media officer.
Blinken's visit to the region is his 11th since the start of the war in Gaza and his first since Israel-Hezbollah violence escalated to all-out war late last month.
Previous US efforts to end the Gaza war and contain the regional fallout have failed.
The war in Gaza began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed 42,718 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry which the UN considers reliable.
Since October 7 a year ago, Israel has achieved most of its strategic objectives when it comes to Gaza... Now is the time to turn those successes into enduring, strategic success, Blinken said as he left Israel, following meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials.
On aid to Gaza, Blinken said he saw progress being made, which is good, but more progress needs to be made and, most critically, it needs to be sustained.
Of Israel's pledge to retaliate for Iran's October 1 missile attack, the US top diplomat said: It's also very important that Israel respond in ways that do not create greater escalation.
After Israel, Blinken began a visit to Saudi Arabia, which has put on hold talks towards a normalisation deal with Israel until a Palestinian state is created.
The US diplomat urged Israel to seize what he described as an incredible opportunity in this region to move in a totally different direction.
Saudi Arabia would be right at the heart of that, and that includes potentially normalisation of relations with Israel, he said.
Blinken will then visit Qatar and Britain, where he will hold talks with Arab counterparts on the Gaza and Lebanon wars.
- Hostages still in Gaza -
In his meeting with Netanyahu on Tuesday, Blinken urged his ally to seize on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza to work towards a ceasefire.
Sinwar was the architect of the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war.
The militants also took 251 hostages back into Gaza. Ninety-seven are still being held there, including 34 the Israeli military has said are dead.
Blinken underscored the need to capitalise on the death of Sinwar, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
This would be done by securing the release of all hostages and ending the conflict in Gaza in a way that provides lasting security for Israelis and Palestinians alike, he added.
Netanyahu told Blinken that Sinwar's death could have a positive impact on the return of the hostages, according to a statement from the prime minister's office.
Blinken also pressed for more aid to be allowed into Gaza as concerns rise for tens of thousands of civilians trapped by fighting in the hard-to-reach north.
Israel launched a major air and ground assault in northern Gaza this month, vowing to stop Hamas militants from regrouping in the area.
The only medical facility still partially functioning in the targeted area has no medicine or medical supplies, warned Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hossam Abu Safia.
People are being killed in the streets, and we can't help them. Bodies are lying on the streets.
The World Health Organization said it was forced to postpone the last phase of a polio vaccination drive in Gaza due to intense bombardment and violence in the north.
- Hezbollah heir -
After nearly a year of war with Hamas in Gaza, Israel shifted its focus to Lebanon in late September, vowing to secure its northern border under fire from Hezbollah.
Israel ramped up its air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds around the country and sent in ground troops late last month, in a war that has killed at least 1,552 people since September 23, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures.
Hezbollah kept up its attacks on Israel Wednesday, saying it had fired rockets at an Israeli military intelligence base in the suburbs of commercial hub Tel Aviv.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army said it had killed the Hezbollah cleric tipped to succeed the group's slain leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike three weeks ago.
Hezbollah has not issued a statement confirming Hashem Safieddine's death, but a high-level source close to the group had said that the militant leader had been out of contact since the strikes.
We have reached Nasrallah, his replacement and most of Hezbollah's senior leadership, Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said in a statement.