STORY: U.S. expects Israel-Hamas conflict to move to "lower intensity phase," says Blinken
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 20, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 21, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:21
LOCATION: Washington D.C.
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State
2. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State
3. various of the press conference
4. exterior of the U.S. Department of State

STORYLINE:

The United States expects to see the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas "move to a lower intensity phase," the country's top diplomat said Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said so during an end-of-year press conference at the State Department.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State
"It's clear that the conflict will move and needs to move to a lower-intensity phase, and we expect to see and want to see a shift to more targeted operations with a smaller number of forces that's really focused on dealing with the leadership of Hamas, the tunnel network, and a few other critical things."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State
"It is vitally important how Israel conducts its operations, again, with a focus on protecting civilians, minimizing harm to them, maximizing assistance getting to them."

Blinken's remarks came amid growing outrage around the world -- and to some extent within the United States -- over the soaring Palestinian civilian deaths resulting from the intensification of aerial bombardments and ground operations by the Israel Defense Force in the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians.

At one point during the press conference, a reporter made a statement while asking a general question on U.S. foreign policy over the past year, saying that the year 2023 is ending "with much of the world blaming the U.S. and Israel, or seeing (the Israel-Hamas conflict) as America's war also. It's hurting America's image in the world."

Asked by that reporter whether the Joe Biden administration has any intent to rethink its diplomatic strategy in ways that will change the dynamics of a series of concurring conflicts still unfolding around the world, Blinken came to the administration's defense, taking the conflict in Gaza as an example and complaining about having heard "virtually no one saying, demanding of Hamas -- that it stop hiding behind civilians, that it lay down its arms, that it surrender."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Washington D.C.
(XHTV)