SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good afternoon, everyone. This is now my ninth trip to the region since October 7th, and President Biden asked me to come back on this trip with two main goals in mind. The first is to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to Israel's security, and that's a commitment that we've put into practice virtually every day since October 7th, including when Israel was attacked directly by Iran back in April.
In recent weeks, given the heightened tensions, we have deployed additional assets to the region. The purpose of the deployment of these assets is not to provoke aggression but rather to deter, to make sure that it doesn't happen, but also to make clear that if it does, we are fully prepared to defend Israel.
We've coupled this effort with an intense diplomatic campaign, virtually a global diplomatic campaign, working with countries around the world to send the message strongly to every concerned party not to take any steps that would escalate tensions, that would risk provoking a wider conflict. And this too has been something we've been working on from day one, since October 7th. It's been one of our primary objectives to prevent the conflict from escalating, from spreading to other places.
And so this coupling of our military commitments, our security commitments, with an intense diplomatic campaign is something that I'm pursuing on this trip, again, with the intent of making sure that we deter further conflict, but that we're also clearly prepared to defend against it if it comes. But what's most crucial now is that everyone - everyone - refrain from taking any actions that could fuel further conflict, escalate tensions, and result in the spreading of violence and conflict.
Second purpose was to further the intense efforts we're engaged in across our government to bring an agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages across the finish line. That is the single best way, obviously, to get hostages home, to get an enduring ceasefire that also reflects Israel's security interests, to relieve the terrible daily suffering of Gazans - men, women, and children desperate for food to eat, for shelter, and for staying out of harm's way.
Back in May, President Biden put before the world a detailed proposed agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages, and the entire world rallied behind it. Country after country came out in support of that agreement, the United Nations Security Council voted 14 to nothing in support of the agreement, and the heart of it is incorporated into a UN Security Council resolution.
Just last week, the President put forward a proposal with Qatar and with Egypt to try to bridge the gaps that remain between the parties so that we could get agreement to what the President put out there a couple of months ago. In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal, that he supports it. It's now incumbent on Hamas to do the same. And then the parties, with the help of the mediators - the United States, Egypt, and Qatar - have to come together and complete the process of reaching clear understandings about how they'll implement the commitments that they've made under this agreement. But the next important step is for Hamas to say yes and then, in the coming days, for all of the expert negotiators to get together to work on clear understandings on implementing the agreement.
These are still complex issues, and they're going to require hard decisions by the leaders. Ultimately it comes down to those decisions, but there is, I think, a real sense of urgency here, across the region, on the need to get this over the finish line and to do it as soon as possible. The United States is deeply committed to getting this job done, to getting it done now.
From here I'm going on to Egypt and Qatar, and these are our two critical partners in this effort to get the ceasefire agreement over the finish line, to get the hostages home, to put everyone on a better path to lasting peace and security. And so I look forward to consulting with President Sisi, with the Amir Sheikh Tamim, with other critical colleagues in both countries, on the immediate steps ahead, and in particular, what needs to be done to ensure that Hamas comes along, agrees to the bridging proposal, and that everyone then works on finalizing a clear understanding of their commitments to implement the agreement.
That's where we are, and again, I'd just say that for us, for President Biden, there's a deep sense of urgency in getting this done. And I also hear that throughout this country as well as throughout the region. It's the single best way not only to get the hostages home, to ease the suffering of people in Gaza; it's also the best way to make sure that conflict doesn't spread, that we don't see escalation, that we can actually defuse some of the pressure points that we see throughout the region, and then open prospects for trying to build a more enduring peace and security for everyone throughout the Middle East.
Happy to take some questions.
