President Barack Obama late Wednesday said that Gaza cannot sustain itself permanently closed off from the world and incapable of providing some opportunity – jobs, economic growth – for the population that lives there”.

Marking the end of a historic Washington summit with African leaders and officials representing 50 nations, Obama backed Egyptian efforts to broker a durable Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza but also called for a longer-term solution that provides for Israeli security while offering Gaza residents hope they will not remain “permanently closed off from the world.”
“My hope is that we’ll be engaging with them to try to move what has been a very tragic situation over the last several weeks into a more constructive path,” Obama said.
In his speech, Obama said that the US will step up its support for African countries in building strong and professional security forces capable of confronting threats of terrorism and conducting dangerous peacekeeping missions.
Obama said, “We’re launching a new Security Governance Initiative to help our African countries continue to build strong, professional security forces to provide for their own security. And we’re starting with Kenya, Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Ghana and Tunisia.”