US Secretary of State arrives in Israel, ceasefire talks about to resume?
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on October 22 for meetings with Israeli leaders, the first stop on a Middle East tour by the Washington diplomat to push for a ceasefire.
The top US diplomat's latest trip is his 11th to the region since Palestinian Hamas militants launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the Gaza war. The visit comes as the Israeli military has stepped up its campaign in the Palestinian enclave as well as in Lebanon against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.
US Secretary of State Blinken is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other officials later in the day as part of a week-long Middle East tour that will also include Jordan and Qatar.
Diplomatic efforts have so far failed to end the year-long Gaza war and its resulting wider conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which has escalated significantly in recent weeks after a year of firefights that have largely taken place on Lebanon's southern border.
Hezbollah said early on October 22 that it had launched a series of rockets at two Israeli military bases near Tel Aviv and a naval base west of Haifa.
