US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday that the pause in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict ended due to Hamas, claiming the terror group ‘reneged’ on commitments.

While speaking to the media at Dubai airport, he said, “I made clear that after the pause it was imperative that Israel put in place clear protections for civilians and for sustaining humanitarian assistance going forward. And as we’ve seen just today, Israel has already moved out on parts of that, including sending out information, making it clear where people can be in safe areas in Gaza. And we’ll be looking at that going forward. It’s very, very important.”

He highlighted that the end of the pause resulted from Hamas breaking commitments, citing a terrorist attack in Jerusalem and firing rockets before the pause ended.

“It’s also important to understand why the pause came to an end. It came to an end because of Hamas. Hamas reneged on commitments it made. In fact, even before the pause came to an end, it committed an atrocious terrorist attack in Jerusalem, killing three people, wounding others, including Americans. It began firing rockets before the pause had ended. And as I said, it reneged on commitments it made in terms of releasing certain hostages.”

Blinken reiterated US support for peace in the region, and said that the US is focusing on the release of Israeli hostages.

“We’re determined to do everything we can to get everyone home, get them reunited with their families, including pursuing the process that worked for seven days. We had seven days of a pause; seven days of people coming home and being reunited with their families,” he said.

“So, we’re on that almost hour by hour. But meanwhile, we’ve also been very clear that we support Israel and its efforts to make sure that October 7th never happens again. We’ve also been very clear about the imperative of doing that in a way that puts a premium on protecting civilians and making sure that humanitarian assistance gets to those who need it. So that’s what we’re focused on, and we’re doing both at the same time,” he added.

“We remain intensely focused on getting everyone home, getting hostages back. It’s something that I also worked on today. So, we’re still at this. We’re also very much focused, as we’ve been all along, on trying to make sure that this conflict doesn’t spread, that it doesn’t escalate in other places. But we’re also using our diplomacy to look at not only what’s happening today and how we’re handling that, but also what happens the day after in Gaza and how we can get on the path to a just, lasting, and secure peace for Israelis, for Palestinians – in fact, for everyone in the region. And that’s also a big focus of our diplomacy,” he added.

This statement from US Secretary of State Blinken comes as the agreed truce between Israel and Hamas expired after seven days, according to CNN.

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas resumed their war in the Gaza Strip on Friday morning after a week-long truce ended with the two sides failing to agree on the release of more hostages held by the Hamas group.

Israeli jets struck Hamas targets in Gaza soon after the cease-fire finished at 7 a.m. local time.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Blinken held a crucial meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Thursday (November 30), marking his second visit to the West Bank since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war, as reported by CNN.

His visit was in the backdrop of increased Israeli settler violence in the region following the October 7 attack on Israel.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

After participating in the Conference of Parties-28 (COP28) in Dubai on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a video of the COP28 and reiterated his commitment to work together for a better planet.

Sharing the video on the social media platform X, PM Modi highlighted key moments.

The video included glimpses of his bilateral meetings, interactions with global leaders, and his summit speech focusing on the contribution of all countries against climate change.

In the video, PM Modi was also seen shaking hands and engaging with many world leaders on the sidelines of the COP28 World Climate Action Summit in Dubai.

Thank you, Dubai! It’s been a productive #COP28 Summit. Let’s all keep working together for a better planet. pic.twitter.com/xpQLQJBmQk

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 1, 2023

“Thank you, Dubai! It’s been a productive #COP28 Summit. Let’s all keep working together for a better planet,” PM Modi wrote in the post.

On the sidelines of the summit, PM Modi met with King Charles III. PM Modi called King Charles as significant voice in fight against climate change.

“Earlier today in Dubai, I had the opportunity to interact with King Charles, who has always been passionate towards environmental conservation and sustainable development. He is an important voice in the fight against climate change. @RoyalFamily,” said PM Modi in a post on X.

PM Modi met with the Vietnamese Prime Minister, Pham Minh Chinh and both leaders shared views on various issues.

“Met Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr. Pham Minh Chinh and had a great conversation on various issues,” PM Modi posted on X.

PM Narendra Modi landed at Delhi airport on Friday late night after a landmark visit to Dubai. He wrapped up his day-long visit to the UAE on Friday evening after participating in the World Climate Action Summit of the COP28.

“PM’s visit was defined by fruitful engagements with global leaders and path-breaking initiatives for accelerating global climate action,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a post on X.

During his UAE visit, PM Modi noted that climate change has had an immense impact on countries in the Global South.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A group of Republican senators, led by Marco Rubio, have written to President Joe Biden, calling for a ban on travel between the United States and China until more is known about a respiratory illness that has been rapidly spreading in the Asian country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has requested that China furnish comprehensive information concerning a recent spike in respiratory illnesses and pneumonia clusters among children.

“Dear Mr President, in light of an unknown respiratory illness spreading throughout the People’s Republic of China (PRC), we call on you to immediately restrict travel between the United States and the PRC. As you know, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a long history of lying about public health crises. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CCP’s obfuscation of the truth, and lack of transparency, robbed the United States of vital knowledge about the disease and its origin,” the letter from Senators Rubio, JD Vance, Rick Scott, Tommy Tuberville, and Mike Braun.

We asked Biden to ban travel to and from China until we know more about this “mystery pneumonia” outbreak https://t.co/eeufkufVII

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 1, 2023

Throughout the Covid pandemic, the WHO repeatedly raised concerns about the lack of openness and collaboration demonstrated by Chinese authorities in their handling of the pandemic.

“We should not wait for the WHO to take action given its track record of slavish deference to the CCP. We must take the necessary steps to protect the health of Americans, and our economy. That means we should immediately restrict travel between the United States and China until we know more about the dangers posed by this new illness. A ban on travel now could save our country from death, lockdowns, mandates, and further outbreaks later,” the letter added.

The senators defended former US President Donald Trump’s decision to restrict travel from China to the United States in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The travel ban, which was implemented on January 31 2020, was met with criticism from many, who accused Trump of “xenophobia” and “discrimination”, the letter claims.

However, the Senators argued that the travel ban was the right decision.

“History and common sense show his decision was the right one,” the letter reads.

What China Says 

Addressing concerns surrounding a recent rise in respiratory illnesses in China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi asserted that it is a prevalent global issue and that Chinese authorities are effectively managing the situation.

“Recently we have seen some clusters of flu cases among children in certain parts of China. In fact, that is a very common phenomenon in many countries, and in China that has been put under effective control,” Mr Wang said as quoted by news agency AFP. “China’s interactions with the international community will not be affected by any factors, and we welcome more visits from friends from across the world.”