US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the Palestinians should not be pressured to leave Gaza. "Palestinians must be able to stay in Gaza," he said.
In a press conference on Sunday (January 7) local time, the US Secretary of State said that Palestinian civilians must return to their country only if the situation improves. They cannot be forced to leave Gaza. BBC reports.
Israel's Finance Minister Bejalal Smotrich recently urged the Palestinian residents to leave Gaza, saying that now it is necessary to encourage the people of Gaza to leave the area.
He said the situation would be different if the 23 lakh people of Gaza were not behind the destruction of the state of Israel. He also said, most people in Israeli society will say: Why not? It's a beautiful place, let's make the desert bloom, it won't be through a conflict.
Antony Blinken condemned the Israeli minister's statement.
Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. Palestinian health officials said even medical facilities, including hospitals, are now unsafe.
A representative of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told the BBC that they are deeply concerned by the deteriorating situation in Gaza.
Israel launched a war against Hamas after an unprecedented attack by Hamas gunmen in southern Israel on October 7 which has been going on for two consecutive months.
According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, more than 22,000 people have been killed in Gaza. Most of them are women and children.