How Gaza war is testing the limits of US diplomacy

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli protesters in Tel Aviv. He was seen gripping the hands of protesters calling for a deal to release the hostages held by Hamas. It was a strong message from America#39;s top diplomat to both the Israeli public and its prime minister. The US has been putting pressure on Israel to act on the crisis in Gaza.

The UN has warned that the situation in the Gaza Strip is rapidly deteriorating. President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have been meeting with Israeli officials to discuss the crisis. The White House says it is working on a long-term plan for the region. The resolution was vetoed by Russia and China.

It endorsed the current process mediated by Qatar to get a ceasefire in return for the release of hostages by Hamas. But it also warned Israel against a military assault on the city of Rafah, home to more than 1. 4 million displaced Palestinians. A UN-backed food security assessment this week said 1.

1 million people in Gaza were struggling with catastrophic hunger and starvation. A man-made famine in the north was imminent between now and May, according to the UN. A growing number of US politicians have also spoken out. Blinken says Hamas could end the suffering tomorrow, if it surrendered.

But he reiterated that more humanitarian aid had to be allowed in. He gave a US endorsement for the first time to a UN-backed measure on hunger, saying #34;100% of the population in Gaza is at severe levels of acute food insecurity. Washington wants the Palestinian Authority running Gaza. It is the entity formed during the 1990s Oslo Accords and driven out of Gaza by Hamas in 2007.

They want to pursue the long sought-after independent state for Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza - albeit demilitarised. In return the Saudis would get advanced American weapons, a security pact with Washington and a US-backed civilian nuclear power programme. Added to this Riyadh would recognise Israel, a long-sought after goal for the Israelis that would further integrate it into the region. It sounds impossibly ambitious, and perhaps it is.