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STATE DEPARTMENT —U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on his latest diplomatic efforts to curb the Gaza war from spreading, warned of "consequences" after Yemen-based Houthi rebels launched their largest yet aerial attack on the Red Sea.
"We had the biggest attack-UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) missiles-just yesterday," Blinken told reporters at Bahrain International Airport in Manama on Wednesday. "These attacks have been aided and abetted by Iran with technology, equipment, intelligence, information, and they are having a real-life impact on people."
More than 20 countries, including Bahrain, have vowed to preserve freedom of navigation and freedom of shipping in the Red Sea, said Blinken after holding talks with Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
"If these attacks continue, as they did yesterday, there will be consequences," Blinken added. He urged Iran to stop its assistance to Houthis but declined to elaborate on what specific consequences there would be.
On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution condemning and demanding an end to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The Iran-backed Houthis said the attacks target ships affiliated with or bound for Israel, and that they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Pathway to a Palestinian State
Earlier, Blinken discussed administrative reforms with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a Wednesday meeting in the West Bank, along with efforts to boost humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza Strip.
It came a day after Blinken pressed Israel's leaders to offer a pathway to a Palestinian state.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement that Blinken "reaffirmed that the United States supports tangible steps towards the creation of a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, with both living in peace and security."
Blinken also called for Israel to transfer all Palestinian tax revenue it collects to the Palestinian authority in accordance with existing agreements.
The Palestinian Authority governs part of the West Bank, while the Hamas militant group has controlled the Gaza Strip where Israel is fighting to eradicate the group.
The United States has envisioned a postwar roadmap that puts Gaza under a Palestinian-led governance with no role for Hamas.
But some analysts are skeptical and play down the prospect.
"I don't see how the Palestinian Authority will go back into Gaza and assume any kind of meaningful control over what is left of Gaza. They're having a very hard time maintaining control, even in the West Bank," Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told VOA Tuesday.
Blinken has stressed the potential for Israel to win acceptance from Arab neighbors by seeking a path toward establishing a Palestinian state as a means to resolve the longstanding conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has firmly rejected the two-state solution.
Northern Gaza
Israel has agreed to allow a U.N. mission to evaluate the situation in war-ravaged northern Gaza for the safe return of displaced Palestinians.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said Wednesday that the mission was "contingent on security guarantees" from Israel.
The U.N. hopes to carry it out as soon as possible, as it is critical to a planned increase in humanitarian aid for northern Gaza.
Diplomats said Israel had invited U.N. Security Council members to visit the country later this month.
A U.N. special envoy is also set to conduct a mission to Israel and the West Bank at the end of January to gather information on sexual violence against hostages, reportedly committed by Hamas militants during the October 7 attacks and its aftermath.
More than 85% of Palestinians have been displaced across the Gaza Strip since October 7, according to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Court hearings
Later this week, the International Court of Justice will conduct hearings on a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and seeking an emergency suspension of its military campaign.
The United States believes the case is meritless and that it distracts from Israel's efforts to fight threats from Hamas militants and other Iran proxies, including Hezbollah and the Houthis, according to Blinken.
"We want this war to end as soon as possible," he said. "But it's vital that Israel achieves its very legitimate objectives of ensuring that October 7 can never happened again."
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has rejected the genocide charge filed at the International Court of Justice, calling the accusation "atrocious and preposterous."
Hostages held in Gaza
On Thursday, Blinken will head to Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi as the country tries to mediate a deal for the release of the remaining hostages, including several Americans.
Retired General Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie, former commander of U.S. Central Command, expressed pessimism during a webinar on Wednesday.
"I think it's going to be very hard to get the remaining hostages back. ... They're the last thing Hamas has," he said. "I am not optimistic that we're going to get a lot of these hostages back."
Gaza health officials say more than 23,300 Palestinians, a large percentage of them women and children, have been killed in Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Israel began its military campaign to wipe out Hamas after Hamas fighters crossed into southern Israel on October 7. Israel said about 1,200 people were killed and about 240 captives taken in the terror attack.
Cindy Saine, Jeff Seldin and Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some material came from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press.