Peer in pier in gaza. A short while ago i did a Video Conference with colleagues from cyprus, from the united kingdom, the urplt a. E. U. A. E. , qatar, the European Union and United Nations to coordinate our efforts in getting this maritime corridor up and running. Sec. Blinken were also of course working with israel on this. When established, this corridor will enable the distribution of up to two million meals every single day, as well as medicine, water and other critical ewe mantarian supplies humanitarian supplies. German, greece, netherlands and canada are also supporting this effort. Now, this is something thats going to take time to actually put in place. Although were working on it as expeditiously as possible. And i want to emphasize, it is a complement to, not a substitute for, other ways of getting humanitarian assistance into gaza and in particular overland routes remain the most critical way to get assistance in and then to people who need it. But this will help close the gap and its part of our alloftheabove strapbg, to make sure strategy, to make sure that were doing Everything Possible by every means possible to surge by land, by sea, by air. As you know, the United States has been leading forts from the very beginning to try to ensure that assistance gets to those who need it. Weve had significant ups and downs, periods of interruption, disruption, and having said that, were also seeing right now humanitarian assistance through rafa and others, getting back to levels weve gotten to some weeks ago, abou yesterday for the first time of the World Food Program was able to resume aid delivery to gaza. Morocco made its first humanitarian assistance delivery. This week the first shipments to north gaza through a new crossing began. We are working to make sure that inspections are celebrated and road repairs move forward so that we can also increase the flow thats going from jordan into gaza. Th a critical route for supplies. So theres movement and its positive. But it rem■ains insufficient. Israel still needs to open as many Access Points as possible and keep them open to make sure tnable way. Increase the scanning capacity, inspection capacity, particularly at one area where more can be done to get more aid in more quickly. Easing unnecessary restrictions on key products, having greater clarity and predictability get. Theres a legitimate issue here about items but we need to see much greater clarity and consistency on what these are. And of course as we said all along, while its vital to make sure that things are getting into gaza, once theyre in, they have to get to the people who need them. And so distribution within gaza remains a critical function. There, improving communication, improving conflice tion with humanitarians, particularly with the United Nations, with local Community Leaders remains important work and work that is still in progress. Bottom line is, we need to see, as weve described it, we need to see flooding the zone when it comes to humanitarian assistance for gaza. This will have a number of i think important meritses to it merits to it. And foremostl bring comfort to people who so desperately need. It but beyond that, one of the challenges we have now, that youre seeing now is lawlessness, insecurity, all of that pervades in gaza. Combined with desperation. When you put those things together, you have situations where aid goes in and then people immediately charge at the trucks and you see a looting, you see criminal gangs get in the act. And again, just ordinary sufficient aid may believe that their only chance to get a piece of bread is to go at the one truck that they see coming in. , predictable, confident supply of assistance going in, that will give peoe confidence that food is there, it will keep coming, they can rely on it. That will also decrease both the overall■n insecurity, sense of lawlessness, prices will come down for goods that are being looted and then sold on the black market and thatre engaged in that practice. Having said all of that, even as we work to surge humanitarian assistance by every means necessary, the most effective way to really get that done is with a ceasefire and having an environment much more con cusive to getting the conducive to getting the aid through. Theres a very strong proposal on the table right now. Will hae it . Doesham want to end the does hamas want to end the suffering its provoked . The questioning is there but i can tell you that were intensely engaged every single day, almost every single hour with qatar, with egypt, to see if we can get a ceasefire agreement that will get the hostages out, get more aid in, and create a pathway perhaps for a more lasting, secure solution. Hostages remain front and cente on our minds and in our hearts. We just learned that one of the dual u. S. Israeli citizens who r 7, etai hen, was in fact killed on october 7. I met with his family multiple times over the last several months. I spoke to them yesterday. There are no good words. No one should have to go through what theyve gone through and what the oth hostage families continue to go through. Its another reason why getting the ceasefire would be so crucial, to enable us to bring. The president has made clear that ensuring supply and humanitarian assistance, doing Everything Possible to protect civilians has to be a priority. It cant be a secondary consideration. So to that end, i would simply say, where theres a will, theres a we look to the government of israel to make sure that this is a priority. Protecting civilians, need. That has to be job number one, even as they do what is necessary to defend the country d to deal with the threat posed by hamas. Happy to take some questions. Reporter mr. Secretary, hello. How are you . So two things very briefly. One, you guys have been talking for a long time, months and months and months now, about the need to get more aid into gaza. So im just curious about what this meeting today was, did it accomplish anything or were any decisions made about speeding up the maritime corridor or what was the was had a broader thing that had more to do with that . Secondly, its no secret that the differences between President Administration and p. M. Netanyahu and Prime Minister netanyahu and his government have gotten bigger, larger, over the course of the past couple months. But particularly over the course of the last several weeks or days. And curious, you are unhappy with the pace of aid deliveries and what israel has done in terms of speeding aistance into gaza, but when you combine that with the actual combat thats going on on the ground, can you see a point where the ited states, where the Biden Administration says, look, enough is enough, and then if that does happen, what would that sec. Blinken thanks. In terms of the meeting today, the focus was on the maritime corridor and the pier, the dock that well be building, that the president announced in the state of the union. So what we were talking about today was, with the countries that are directly participating helping to establish that pier, that dock, but also putting in place the system to collect assistance and then to send it off by sea to the dock that well be building. So thats what this is about and it was really following up on the president s state of the union message, following up in very concrete ways to get this moving, to the this off the ground to get this off the ground. The litary is also working intensely on this. We want to get this up and running as quickly as possible but it demands participation among the donor countries, the participating countries and israel. Thats what were focused on today. Again, i want to emphasize that this effort is vital, but its, again, a complement to, not a for humanitarian assistance to gaza and notably the overland access. As the second part of your question, i to engage in hypotheticals. Weve been working closely with the government of israel, but also many other countries to try to make our ability that aid can get in, they can get to people who need it. And that civilians are better protected. That remains an ongoing effort. And as i said, we need to see efforts in that direction maximized. The presidens very clear. This has to be a priority. And it has to be a priority for israel. Its the right thing to do. Its also, i think, profoundly in israels interest to do it. And thats what were working on. Reporter thank you. I want to follow up on thr this has become. The u. S. Is weaponizing the [indiscernible] we are the leading supplier of weapons to israel. At the same time you are leading an International Rescue effort to get this aid in. Despite the obstacles from members of the cabinet in israel, which have delayed the opening of more land access and still are. And as you point out, the sea routes are slow, slower than they should be, not all the ports are open. Theyre not a substitute for the hundreds of trucks that could get in by land. So can you explain to the American People this incompatible policy, these policies are in conflict. And you have received any plans as requested from israel, a plan to take care of the people in rafa, if, as the Prime Minister has said, hes determined to go in [indiscernible] secondly on haiti, theres t same disaster emerging there on a different scale. Is there a u. S. Plan to help with relief . Its already been five months since the u. N. Authorized [indiscernible] its going to be a while until they get in. Even if they agree to go in. What emergency relief cane provide to the people of haiti to try to resolve the growing disaster there . Thank you. Sec. Blinken thanks, andrea. Coming back to the first question. We have been focused on two thin. One, making sure that israel can effectively defend itself and thats an enduring commitment thats not going to go away. And also to try to make sure again. Ctober 7 never happens in doing that, were there as israels ally, as israels partner. Weve also been determined froms steps necessary to defend itself, to make sure that october 7 never happens again, that civilians are protected,■ . 2 humanitarian assistance gets to those who need it. And these two objectives are not in conflict. The question is when israel on the one hand is and can effectively deal with its security needs and defending the country, while at the same time maximizing every possible effort to ensure that civilians are not harmed and that assist to those who need it. And as ive said for some time, we see a gap between the intent and the result that were determined every single day to close. We want to see the violence end. We want to see this get to a point where civilians are fully protected and people get what they need to get by ultimately to rebuild their lives. The best path forward right now would be, of course, getting an agreement on hostages. Thats what were worng o day. With regard to rafa, the president s been very clear about this. Repeatedly. Given the large number of civilians that are now there, many of them displaced from other parts of gaza, about 1. 4 million, we need to see a plan that will get civilians out of harms way, if theres to be a military operation in gets thems way, but also ensures that they have what they need that. They have shelter, that they have food, that they have medicine. We have not yet seen such a plan. On haiti, as you know, this has been a long, unfolding story. The part of the story heart of the story is the suffering of the haitian people and we want to see an end. But that requires a few things. It requires a more stable poti country can function and function democratically. And for that we need to see a transition to elections, to a clear return to a democratic path. We need assistance, humanitarian assistance, Development Assistance so the econy can get built up, people can have opportunities. And fundamentally we need to see security because its very hard to do either of the first two things in an environment that is profoundly insecure. And right now you have in haiti profound insecurity that is being driven largely by the action of gangs who control big parts of the capital city, critical infrastructure, etc. Been working on all these fronts and as you know, the United Nations endorsed some months agority support mission p the Haitian Police regain control of security. As were putting that together, and kenya sd this mission, weve brought together other countries that are going to contribute to the mission. We ourselves are contributing significant resources towj■v it. In parallel, weve also been trying with caribbean countries, other interested countries, to help haitians get a better political path. I was in jamaica just a couple of days ago with all of the countries from the caribbean, with other partners, including canada, including france and mexico. All of this in support of haitianled efforts to find a political path forward, to get to a political transition. And thats exactly what was agreed the other day. The Prime Minister, Prime Minister henry, stepped down, along with his government. A transitionalcouncil or collegg stood up. Its inclusive. It brings together most of the major parties in haiti, as well as Key Stakeholders like the private sector, like the interfaith community. And civil society. That council has as its again, agreed to by the haitian, to choose a new Prime Minister, an interim Prime Minister, to establish a National Security council, and to put in place an electoral commission. That creates the pathway to transition to elections and to a constitutionally mandated government. That also creates a better environment in which the multiNational Security support mission can go forward. I was on the phone this morning with the president of kenya who confirmed kenyas preparedness to lead t the new council is stood up, which we believe will happen in the next couple of days, and an interim Prime Minister is selected, that mission can move forward. I announced as well when i was in jamaica that the department of defense is doubling its■ contributions to this effort. So we now have 200 million coming from d. O. D. , another 100 million coming from the rest of the United States government in support oftiNational Security support mission. We have another almost 100 million thats been raised from other countries around the world, notably from canada. So my anticipation is, having done all of this work, we should be in a place where that mission can go forward, it can, we believe, help reestablish security, take back control of the country from the gangs, meanwhile, political transition is moving forward with this interim president ial council, with an interim Prime Minister, with these new bodies that are stood up, tracking toward elections, and that in turn creates a better environment in which we can actually get assistance in, get it to people who need it, get development cre opportunities for people. None of this is easy. None of this is going to happen from one day to the next. Process in place to do that. Its haitian design. Its haitian led, but its supported by many countries, not only in this hemisphere but around the world. Reporter let me try to push you a little bit more on these issues in the an answer. President biden in his interview also said he wouldnt suspend any military aid to israel in a way that would impact, for example, the iron dome. Does that mean the United States would consider putting conditions on offense weapons to israel . Secondly, you met with e. U. Foreign policy chief today. He said israel is using starvation as a weapon of war. Do a that . And if you dont, who do you think is responsible for the manmade famine in gaza . And lastly, theres been an israeli air strike today on an aid distribution center. The agency said at least one staff has been killed. It also says theyve srehis facy with the israeli army in the hopes that it would be protected. What can you tell us about this incident . Thank you. C. Let me start with the last one. I saw the reports of the strike today on the unrwa facility. And first foremost, our condolences go out to the families of loved ones of those who apparently lost their lives in thisont know the details oft happened. I do know based on what weve heard from the Israeli Government that the i. D. F. Is investigating this incident. And of course we will look closely to see what that investigations. Without getting into the specifics of this incident, because again, i dont know the facts, i think it does, as a general matter, few minutes ago and thats the imperative of having much better and much more consistent deconfliction. Humanitarian workers, the agencies, they need to be able to do their jobs with as much security and as much confidence as is possible. Look, youre in a war zone. You have a terrorist group that is firing from hospitals, from schools, from apartment buildings. But the Israeli Military, the Israeli Government have a responsibility and an obligation to do Everything Possible to ensure that the humanitarians can do their jobs. And among other things, that means making sure that if theres a humanarian facility thats clearly identified, its not struck. It means making sure that if theres a supply mission, a convoy, trucks going t at a parr time, that the Israeli Military does Everything Possible to ensure its secure passage. So, this is an ongoing process. Its made, again, incredibly difficult by the environment in which its being conducted. But it is a responsibility and an imperative for the israelis. What weve seen in terms of food as well as other supplies going to your second part of your question, is of course the israelis have been not only allowing food in, they have been working to make sure that it gets in and gets to people who need it. Weve seen throughout this process, first, the opening of rafa back in october. After my first visit to israel, many hours of discussion, rafa opened, assistance began to get in. We went back. Some weeks agreements to open te other one. During the first hostage pause, one week, the amount of asstance that was then going in doubled during that period of time. Since then, weve pressed them on doing things like getting flour in. I mentioned that a short while ago. The flour that is now getting into gaza is enough to produce bread to last for six months. In gaza. We have a new opening that was just put in place that will facilitate more assistance going in. I talked about the maritime corridor that were doing. Weve been doing air drops. The bottom line is, food is getting in but its insuthats why were talking abt doing Everything Possible to maximize not only what gets in, but what gets to people. But i think that i think that answers the second part of the question. Finally, let me just say this about our commitment. Our commitment is to make sure that israel has the means to defend itself, to provide for its own security. Thats an enduring commitment. Well take one more. Reporter thansecretary blinken. Reporter youve been saying that the onus is on israel to come up with a plan to protect civilians in rafa if theyre going to conduct this operation. I wonder if you guys think itso be developed. Can they come, given how many civilians are there and what an operation would look like,;e do you think thats in the realm of possibility . Then my second question, just in the same vein, right now without seeing that plan from israel is the considering conditioning support for israel on whether or not they go ahead with this operation in rafa . Secretary blinken i mentioned a few minutes ago the tremendous challenge in conducting a milita operation in rafa with 1. 4 million civilians there. And the imperative, as as presis clearly expressed it, that there has to be if there are going to be military operations in rafa,o get civilians out of harms way and provide for them once out of harms way. We have not en that plan. Sit possible . Yes, its possible. But we havent seen it. And the most important thing is to see it. And to make sure thatthing thate implemented in a way that fleshes what has to be accomplished which is protecting people and supporting people. But right now, e rem of hypotheticals because in the realm of hypotheticals because we havent seen a plan. Beyond that im not going to p get into any other hypotheticals about rafa or where that goes. A plan for u. S. Civil for the civilians and we will wait for that. Thank you. [captions copyright nl cable satellite corp