U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday for talks with Israeli leaders as part of his Middle East tour aimed at achieving a ceasefire. This was reported by Reuters and AFP.
This visit was the 11th for an American diplomat in the region since the Islamist group Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October last year, which led to an escalation of the war in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, the Israeli army continues its active campaign not only in Gaza, but also in Lebanon, where it is fighting against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia.
During his visit, Blinken plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and other senior officials.
After that, Blinken’s tour will continue in Jordan and Qatar, where he is also scheduled to hold talks on conflict resolution.
Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, a ceasefire has not yet been reached in the Gaza Strip, nor in the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which has escalated significantly in recent weeks.
On Tuesday morning, Hezbollah announced rocket attacks on two Israeli air bases near Tel Aviv and one naval base near Haifa.
