US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Washington was working “very aggressively” to substantially expand the amount of aid reaching trapped civilians in Gaza.
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Blinken held 2.5 hours of one-on-one talks in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan that focused on ways to relieve the humanitarian toll of the Israel-Hamas war.

“We are working, as I said, very aggressively on getting more humanitarian assistance into Gaza and we have very concrete ways of doing that,” Blinken told reporters before boarding a plane for Japan.

“I think we will see in the days ahead that the assistance can expand in significant ways,” he said without providing details.

Blinken was visiting Turkey following a whirlwind tour of the Middle East during which he heard a chorus of Arab calls for an immediate ceasefire.

The top US diplomat said a “pause could help” ensure more aid reaches civilians.

“We know the deep concern here (in Turkey) for the terrible toll… in Gaza and its civilians, a concern that we share, that we are working on every single day. We engage the Israelis on the steps that they can take to minimise civilian casualties,” Blinken said.
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