In Tel Aviv, Blinken announces U.N. effort to help return Palestinians home to Gaza

Jan. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said displaced Palestinian people must be permitted to return to their homes in the Gaza Strip when the timing is right and announced Israel had agreed to a plan that could allow that to happen.

At a Tel Aviv news conference, Blinken said giving the Palestinian people a chance to return to their homes will determine what work needs to be done as the war enters different phases.

Blinken said that Israel's government agreed to a plan that will permit a United Nations-led assessment mission into the northern Gaza territory -- currently deemed "uninhabitable" by the United Nations.

"This is not going to happen overnight," said Blinken, who added that the United States is committed to ensuring that attacks on Israeli citizens like what happened on Oct. 7 "never happen again."

After visiting with leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, Blinken landed in Israel, where he said his most recent Mideast trip highlighted that Arab countries in the region are moving toward "a lasting solution that ends the long-running cycle of violence and ensures Israel's security."

But he also underscored the how important it is that any progress must be made through a regional approach that includes a roadmap for Palestinian statehood.

"If Israel wants its Arab neighbors to make the tough decisions necessary to help ensure lasting security, Israeli leaders will have to make hard decisions themselves," Blinken said.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, more than 22,000 people -- the majority of them women and children -- have been killed since the Israel-Hamas conflict began late last year.

Ahead of Wednesday's West Bank meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Blinken stated that the Palestinian National Authority has a responsibility "to reform itself, to improve its governance."