以色列-哈马斯战争目前集中在加沙美国国务卿安东尼·布林肯周日在正在进行的中东之行中表示，随着该地区“深刻的紧张局势”增加了更大范围冲突的可能性，该地区“很容易转移”到巴勒斯坦领土以外。
布林肯在卡塔尔首都多哈与卡塔尔首相穆罕默德·本·阿卜杜勒拉赫曼·阿勒萨尼一起对记者说，这样的战斗将“导致更多的不安全和痛苦”。
布林肯的中东九站之旅已经进行了大约一半，这是自哈马斯10月7日对以色列的恐怖袭击造成1200人死亡后，他自战争开始以来的第四次外交使命。
在前往以色列和埃及之前，布林肯将在阿联酋和沙特阿拉伯与阿拉伯领导人进行更多的会晤。他说，在红海、以色列-黎巴嫩边境以及伊拉克和叙利亚反复发生争执的情况下，降级是这些讨论的“核心”。
美国官员表示，黎巴嫩和也门的真主党和胡塞武装等激进组织，以及伊朗支持的代理战士是一些事件的幕后黑手。
布林肯星期天说:“我还将提出采取更多措施防止平民伤亡的必要性。太多无辜的巴勒斯坦人已经被杀害。”
国务卿和包括乔·拜登总统在内的其他美国官员一样，试图强调他们支持以色列对哈马斯的报复行动，同时呼吁以色列在加沙持续不断的袭击和高死亡人数的情况下尽可能减少平民伤亡。
以色列军方坚持说，它采取措施避免攻击非哈马斯战士，以色列官员经常说，哈马斯将自己隐藏在民用基础设施中，本质上是用它作为盾牌，违反了国际法。
根据巴勒斯坦卫生部的数据，截至周日，加沙的死亡人数超过了22，800人，阿拉伯领导人多次呼吁全面停火，其中包括卡塔尔外交部长阿勒萨尼，他是释放100多名人质谈判的关键人物，据信这些人质仍被关押在加沙。
布林肯周日表示，他“感谢”卡塔尔人在此前释放100多名人质的过程中提供的“有益”帮助，以及11月的战斗暂停。布林肯一再表示，他的外交重点是改善加沙的人道主义状况和释放人质。
在停火的必要性问题上，他与卡塔尔外长意见相左，但他暗示以色列军方应该重新考虑自己的做法。
国务卿说:“我认为，同样非常非常重要的是，在行动继续的情况下，应该围绕保护平民和获得人们需要的人道主义援助来设计行动，而不是反过来。”。联合国人道主义事务负责人周五表示，经过三个月的战斗和以色列针对哈马斯的轰炸，加沙已经变得“不适合居住”。
联合国负责人道主义事务的副秘书长马丁·格里菲斯说:“人们正面临有史以来最高水平的粮食不安全，饥荒即将来临。”
布林肯告诉记者，他了解到加沙食品不安全的人口比例高达90%。
他重申，美国反对加沙人永久流离失所，这一提议得到了以色列右翼政府强硬派成员的支持。
“一旦条件允许，巴勒斯坦平民必须能够返回家园。他们不能，也绝不能被迫离开加沙，”布林肯说。
他称一些以色列部长和议员的话是“不负责任的”和“煽动性的”，并表示联合国在重新安置流离失所的巴勒斯坦人方面可以发挥“至关重要的作用”。
Israel-Hamas war 'could easily metastasize' beyond Gaza, Blinken warns
The Israel-Hamas warcurrently concentrated in Gaza"could easily metastasize" beyond the Palestinian territory as "profound tension" in the region raises the prospect of a wider conflict, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday during an ongoing trip to the Middle East.
Such fighting would "cause even more insecurity and suffering," Blinken told reporters in Doha, Qatar, alongside Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Blinken is roughly halfway through a nine-stop tour around the Middle East, his fourth diplomatic mission since the war began after Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel killed 1,200.
Blinken has more meetings with Arab leaders in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia before heading to Israel and Egypt. De-escalation, he said, "is at the heart" of these discussions amid repeated altercations in the Red Sea, at the Israeli-Lebanese border and in Iraq and Syria.
U.S. officials have said militant groups like Hezbollah and the Houthis, in Lebanon and Yemen, as well as Iranian-backed proxy fighters, are behind some of the incidents.
Looking ahead to his meetings with Israeli leaders in Tel Aviv and the West Bank set for early this week, Blinken said Sunday, "I will also raise the imperative of doing more to prevent civilian casualties. Far too many Palestinians, innocent Palestinians, have already been killed."
The secretary of state, like other U.S. officials including President Joe Biden, have sought to stress their support for Israel's retaliatory operations against Hamas while calling for Israel to do as much as possible to curb civilian casualties in light of the ongoing onslaught in Gaza and high death toll.
The Israeli military insists it takes steps to avoid attacking non-Hamas fighters, and Israeli officials often say that Hamas embeds itself in civilian infrastructure, essentially using it as a shield, in violation of international law.
The death toll in Gaza surpassed 22,800 as of Sunday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, amid repeated calls from Arab leaders for a broad cease-fire, including from Al Thani, who's also the Qatari minister for foreign affairs and a key figure in negotiations over freeing the more than 100 hostages thought to still be held in Gaza.
Blinken said Sunday that he was "grateful" to the Qataris for their "instrumental" help in the previous release of over 100 hostages that went along with a pause in fighting in November. Blinken has repeatedly said his diplomacy is focused on improving humanitarian conditions in Gaza and freeing hostages.
He stood at odds with his Qatari counterpart over the need for a cease-fire but signaled Israel's military should reconsider its approach.
"I think it's also very, very important that, to the extent operations continue, they be designed around protecting civilians and around getting humanitarian assistance people need, not the other way around," the secretary said. The U.N. humanitarian chief on Friday said Gaza has become "uninhabitable" after three months of fighting and Israeli bombardment aimed at Hamas.
"People are facing the highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded [and] famine is around the corner," said Martin Griffiths, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs.
Blinken told reporters in Qatar that he learned the figure of food insecure people in Gaza was as high as 90%.
He reiterated that the U.S. opposed to the permanent displacement of Gazans, a proposal embraced by hard-line members of Israel's right-wing government.
"Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow. They cannot, they must not, be pressed to leave Gaza," Blinken said.
He called the words of some Israeli ministers and lawmakers "irresponsible" and "inflammatory" and said the U.N. has a "crucial role" to play in resettling displaced Palestinians.
