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1 week ago
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WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is returning to the Middle East connected his seventh diplomatic ngo to the portion since the Israel-Hamas warfare successful Gaza began much than six months ago, the State Department said Saturday.
Blinken is traveling to Saudi Arabia connected Monday, conscionable 2 days since arriving backmost successful Washington aft a travel to China. Blinken volition be a World Economic Forum league and conscionable with Arab overseas ministers successful Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
An Israeli overseas ministry authoritative says Blinken volition sojourn Israel connected Tuesday, a halt not mentioned successful the State Department's announcement astir Blinken's itinerary.
His latest Mideast trip, connected the heels of meetings successful China with President Xi Jinping and different high-ranking officials, comes arsenic the warfare grinds on, with much than 34,000 Palestinians killed, hundreds of thousands displaced and a steadily worsening humanitarian catastrophe successful Gaza. In the astonishment onslaught by Hamas against Israel connected Oct. 7 that triggered the war, astir 1,200 radical were killed and astir 250 radical abducted.
U.S.-backed efforts to negociate a cease-fire successful speech for the merchandise of the hostages person failed. On Saturday, Hamas said it was reviewing a caller Israeli connection for a cease-fire arsenic Egypt stepped up efforts to broker a woody to extremity the warfare and avert a imaginable Israeli crushed violative into the confederate Gaza metropolis of Rafah. A Hamas authoritative gave nary details of the offer. Negotiations earlier this period centered connected a six-week cease-fire program and the merchandise of 40 civilian and sick hostages successful speech for freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners successful Israeli jails.
Since mid-October, Blinken has shuttled betwixt Israel and its astir of its Arab and Muslim neighbors, trying to boost assistance to civilians successful Gaza, forestall the struggle from spreading passim the portion and physique enactment for plans for the reconstruction and governance of postwar Gaza — each portion vocally backing Israel’s close to support itself.
Israel's violative successful Gaza has heightened governmental unit successful the U.S., with pro-Palestinian protests springing up astatine universities and resulting pushback from immoderate who accidental the demonstrations person veered into antisemitism.
Blinken and different American authoritative person tried to dissuade Israel from mounting a large-scale subject cognition successful Rafah, wherever much than a cardinal Palestinians person fled to flight the fighting.
He has had constricted success. Aid shipments into Gaza person accrued but are not astatine the level to forestall what the United Nations says is looming famine, and Arab nations person agreed to backmost evolving plans for Gaza’s future.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken “will sermon ongoing efforts to execute a cease-fire successful Gaza that secures the merchandise of hostages and however it is Hamas that is lasting betwixt the Palestinian radical and a cease-fire.” Blinken volition accent the value of keeping the struggle from spreading and sermon efforts “to execute lasting bid and information successful the region, including done a pathway to an autarkic Palestinian authorities with information guarantees for Israel.”
Israel is plowing up with preparations to onslaught Rafah, and the struggle has escalated, successful peculiar aft a suspected Israeli onslaught connected Iran's consulate successful Syria. Iran retaliated with drone, ballistic and cruise rocket launches, provoking an evident Israeli airstrike adjacent a large aerial basal and atomic tract successful cardinal Iran.
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Associated Press writer Julia Frankel successful Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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