Blinken says Israel still must do more to boost humanitarian aid to Gaza

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel must still do more to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip and that he would use his Middle East trip — his seventh to the region since the Israel-Hamas war started in October — to press that case with Israeli leaders.

Speaking at events in Saudi Arabia's capital, Blinken said the best way to ease the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza would be to conclude an elusive cease-fire agreement, which also would release Israeli hostages held by Hamas since its Oct. 7 attacks launched the war. Hamas has been presented with an “extraordinarily generous” offer by Israel that he hoped the group would accept, he said.

“Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel, and in this moment, the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and cease-fire is Hamas," he said at a World Economic Forum gathering in Riyadh.

"They have to decide, and they have to decide quickly. So, we’re looking to that, and I’m hopeful that they will make the right decision and we can have a fundamental change in the dynamic,” Blinken said.

Although talks continue, Hamas has so far balked at a series of offers negotiated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States and agreed to by Israel. Even without a deal, Blinken said it was critical to improve conditions in Gaza now.

“We’re also not waiting on a cease-fire to take the necessary steps to meet the needs of civilians in Gaza,” Blinken told Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers earlier Monday, when he arrived in Saudi Arabia for the first stop on his Middle East tour, which includes stops in Jordan and Israel on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"We have seen measurable progress in the last few weeks, including the opening of new crossings and increased volume of aid delivery to Gaza and within Gaza, and the building of the U.S. maritime corridor, which will open in the coming weeks. But it is not enough. We still need to get more aid in and around Gaza,” he said.

He said safety for humanitarian relief workers must be improved and that there's a focus on ensuring the aid is making a proper impact for Palestinian civilians.

Scores of relief workers have been killed since the conflict began, and an Israeli attack on a World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza this month that killed seven aid workers only highlighted the dangers and difficulties of protecting them. Israel has said the strike was a mistake and has disciplined officials involved.

World Central Kitchen said it would resume operations in Gaza on Monday after a four-week suspension.

Blinken, who also is meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, has his work cut out for him.

The war in Gaza has ground on with little end in sight: More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, hundreds of thousands more are displaced and a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening.

The conflict has fueled mass protests around the world that have spread to American college campuses. U.S. support for Israel, particularly arms transfers, has come under particular criticism, something the administration is keenly aware poses potential problems for U.S. President Joe Biden in an election year.

Blinken's trip comes as there are renewed concerns about the conflict spreading in the Middle East and with once-promising prospects for Israeli-Saudi rapprochement effectively on hold as Israel refuses to consider one of the Saudis' main conditions for normalized relations: the creation of a Palestinian state.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has been warning Israel against a major military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have fled to escape fighting farther north. Israel has not yet launched such an offensive, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that one will take place, asserting that it is the only way to wipe out Hamas.

Both topics were discussed during a Biden-Netanyahu phone call on Sunday, according to the White House and U.S. officials.

During his trip, Blinken said he would also underscore the absolute importance of not allowing the Israel-Hamas conflict to engulf the region.

The danger of conflagration was underscored this month when a suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian consular building in Syria prompted an unprecedented direct missile and drone response by Iran against Israel. An apparent retaliatory Israeli strike on Iran followed.

Although the tit-for-tat cycle appears to have ended for now, deep concerns remain that Iran or its proxies in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria or Yemen could act in such a way as to provoke a greater response from Israel or that Israel might take action that Iran feels it must retaliate for.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, sitting third from left, attends the U.S.-Arab Quint Meeting with representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Palestinian Authority, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

U.S.Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds files as walks to the U.S.-Arab Quint Meeting with representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Palestinian Authority, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday, April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, sitting second from left, attends the U.S.-Arab Quint Meeting with representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Palestinian Authority, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the U.S.-Arab Quint Meeting with representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Palestinian Authority, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second right, walk to a Joint Ministerial Meeting of the GCC-U.S. Strategic Partnership to discuss the humanitarian crises faced in Gaza, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, shakes hands with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on the day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken walk to a Joint Ministerial Meeting of the GCC-U.S. Strategic Partnership to discuss the humanitarian crises faced in Gaza in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second right, walk to a Joint Ministerial Meeting of the GCC-U.S. Strategic Partnership to discuss the humanitarian crises faced in Gaza, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, speaks WEF's President Borg Brende during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday April 29, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gestures as he departs for Saudi Arabia in the latest Gaza diplomacy push, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, April 28, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken salutes as he gets ready to depart for Saudi Arabia in the latest Gaza diplomacy push, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, April 28, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken exits a vehicle as he gets ready to depart for Saudi Arabia in the latest Gaza diplomacy push, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, April 28, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gestures as he departs for Saudi Arabia in the latest Gaza diplomacy push, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, April 28, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The cheers were endless Saturday in the PGA Championship, and when another record day of scoring finally ended at vulnerable Valhalla, so were the possibilities.

Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa were tied for the lead. Shane Lowry thrust his way into the mix with a 62 to tie a major championship record last set just two days earlier. Bryson DeChambeau chipped in for eagle on the last hole to set off a wild celebration.

And all Scottie Scheffler could do during all this chaos — at least it was inside the ropes this time — was listen to them.

Scheffler's remarkable streak of 42 consecutive rounds at par or better finally ended in the second-lowest scoring average for a Saturday at the PGA Championship. He faded early, never quite recovered and shot 73 to finish eight shots back with 23 players ahead of him.

“Too many mistakes,” Scheffler told CBS. He declined to speak to reporters. “I came out here hoping to have a good round and didn’t get it done.”

Schauffele, who opened the week with a 62 that felt easy, labored to stay in front and was two shots ahead until a 9-iron came out hot and sailed over the green at the 15th. With water on the other side of the green, he was careful with a chip out of shin-high grass and moved it 10 feet. He chipped on and two-putted for a double bogey, only his second hole over par this week.

Schauffele bounced back with two closing birdies for a 3-under 68.

Morikawa briefly took the lead with a 6-foot birdie putt that went 360 degrees around the cup before dropping on the 15th, and he holed a 10-foot birdie on the 18th for a 67 to tie Schauffele. They were at 15-under 198 with plenty of company.

Sahith Theegala birdied six of his last 10 holes for a 68 and was one shot behind. Another shot back was the trio of Lowry, DeChambeau (67) and Viktor Hovland (66) — a British Open champion, U.S. Open champion and FedEx Cup champion.

And it didn't stop there. Fifteen players were separated by five shots.

“There are a ton of guys who can do it tomorrow,” Morikawa said.

The shocker was Scheffler not being among them.

Scheffler was coming off the most heart-racing day of his career that featured an arrest for not following police orders, brief jail time and a 66 to get into contention for a second straight major. But he was never a factor after an early stretch of double bogey-bogey-bogey.

“I definitely did not feel like myself today,” he said. “Yesterday happened, I did my best to recover from it and come out and compete. This morning was not my usual routine for a round. At the end of the day, I came out hoping to have a good round but I wasn’t able to get it done, which was frustrating.”

Even at the home of the Kentucky Derby, this final round could be tough to handicap.

Lowry's magnificent performance — he made 161 feet worth of putts — ended with a wedge to just inside 12 feet and a clear shot at 61, only to not give the putt enough pace.

“Probably the most disappointed anyone can ever be shooting 62,” Lowry said. “Look, I went out there with a job to do today, and my job was to try to get myself back in the tournament. And I definitely did that.”

DeChambeau had only three birdies and didn't get much out of his round until he chipped in for his eagle, a moment so loud it was hard to tell if he or the thousands of fans were more excited. He said he hasn't felt that kind of energy since his 58 to win LIV Golf Greenbrier last year.

“Exhilarating,” he said. “That was pretty exciting there. I was pretty pumped. I’ve got a good chance. I’m not executing to the level that I know I can, but playing well enough to give myself a chance, obviously.”

Justin Rose (64) was three shots back. The group five behind at 10-under 203 included Justin Thomas, the Louisville native who felt chills on a steamy day of sunshine when he hacked out of the weeds, down to the green and into the cup on the par-3 14th for a most unlikely birdie. He shot 67.

That's 15 players at 10 under or better, the most through 54 holes in major championship history. The previous record was seven players, most recently at St. Andrews in 2022.

The scoring average for the third round was 69.55, a fraction behind the record for the PGA Championship set at Bellerive in 2018.

This was the day to go low just to stay in the hunt. Scheffler, using fill-in caddie with regular looper Ted Scott attending his daughter's high school graduation in Louisiana, was in trouble from the start — a double bogey on No. 2 from mangled rough, a tee shot into a hazard left of the reachable par-4 fourth hole.

He was 4 over through four holes, and on three occasions he followed a birdie with a bogey. It was his highest score since a 73 in the third round of the Tour Championship last August.

Now the focus turns to Schauffele, the Olympic gold medalist from the Tokyo Games in 2021 who is trying to bag a silver prize — the heavy Wanamaker Trophy — for his first major. Schauffele has been leading or tied in six of his last seven rounds.

The exception was losing a 54-hole lead last week to Rory McIlroy's closing 65 at Quail Hollow.

“I just need to stay in my lane, and hopefully it's enough,” Schauffele said.

Morikawa already had two majors at age 24 and is slowly working his way back to that smooth, repeatable swing. He had one early wobble missing a 4-foot par putt on the second hole, and that was really his only big mistake.

There was no shortage of candidates to claim the second major of the year. It was crowded at the top, just like it was at Harding Park in 2020, when a dozen players were separated by three shots going into the final round. Morikawa emerged with his first major.

“Look, I’ve played against all these guys. It’s not like any of these guys are new,” Morikawa said. “They all have their accolades within themselves, and really anyone can go low.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Xander Schauffele hits from the fairway on the 17th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Sahith Theegala waves after making a putt on the 18th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Sahith Theegala reacts to his shot from the fairway on the 18th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Bryson DeChambeau celebrates after a eagle on the 18th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Bryson DeChambeau celebrates after a eagle on the 18th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Shane Lowry, of Ireland, celebrates after a birdie on the 13th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Justin Rose, of England, greets Shane Lowry, of Ireland, after the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Scottie Scheffler reacts to his chip to the green on the fourth hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Scottie Scheffler waits to play on the second hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Collin Morikawa hits from the fairway on the 18th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Collin Morikawa waves after making a putt on the 18th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Xander Schauffele watches his tee shot on the fourth hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Valhalla Golf Club, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Matt York)