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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the Biden administration tries to revive stalled talks to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of hostages following the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar .
Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting in Jerusalem, the US State Department said there were “opportunities to advance” ceasefire negotiations. But diplomats say there is little momentum for new talks as Netanyahu’s far-right government continues its offensive in Gaza and steps up its offensive against Hizbollah in Lebanon.
Hours before Blinken arrived, Hizbollah fired multiple rounds of rockets and missiles across northern and central Israel, including Tel Aviv and Haifa. The Lebanese militant group said it targeted the Glilot intelligence base just north of Tel Aviv and a naval base in Haifa.
The Israeli military said the Iran-backed group fired at least 80 projectiles into Israel during the day, killing one Israeli soldier and seriously wounding three others in the north after a rocket exploded.
According to statements from both their offices, Blinken and Netanyahu met for two and a half hours and discussed efforts to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon as well as Iran’s role in the region.
Blinken’s visit comes as the region prepares for Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attack on Israel three weeks ago. Israel vowed to retaliate “accurately and deadlyly” for the series of 180 ballistic missiles that Iran fired, a move Tehran said was a response to Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last month.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Tuesday that Tehran would “reciprocate accordingly” if Israel attacked the Islamic republic. Araghchi said he had received assurances from all of Iran’s neighbors that “they will not allow the use of their airspace against us,” adding that Iranian forces are “ Closely monitor activities at US bases in the region.
Israeli forces killed Sinwar, the mastermind of last year’s October 7 attack by Hamas, which sparked a wave of hostility across the region, in southern Gaza last week.
Since his death, Israeli attacks have killed dozens of people in northern Gaza. Israel has also expanded its attacks on Hizbollah in Lebanon.
Lebanese health officials said Tuesday that an Israeli attack killed 18 people, including four children, and injured dozens more after striking a narrow residential alley facing the city. a government hospital in south Beirut on Monday night. At least four buildings were reduced to rubble after the strike.
“Why are they doing this to us? This is a poor neighborhood and we have nothing to do with it,” said Mariam, a woman whose parents’ building was hit by a bomb, whose fate is unknown. “There is no safe place anymore.”
The Israeli army said it carried out the attack against a Hizbollah “target” near the hospital, but added that it was not aimed at a medical facility. People in the area have not been warned to evacuate.
An Israeli airstrike leveled a roughly 10-story residential building in south Beirut on Tuesday, shortly after the army warned residents to leave the area.
In Gaza, Hamas maintains that it will only accept the deal if Israel agrees to a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of troops from the besieged strip – something Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected during months of negotiations led by the US. lead.
According to Palestinian health officials, Israel’s attack on Gaza has killed more than 42,000 people. Last week, the US told Israel it needed to take “urgent and sustained actions” to improve the dire humanitarian situation in the territory or risk losing military aid from Washington.
Netanyahu’s far-right allies in his ruling coalition have threatened to leave his government if he agrees to what they describe as a “reckless” deal with the Palestinian militant group. Meanwhile, Hamas must choose a new leader to replace Sinwar.
Blinken’s visit comes a day after White House special envoy Amos Hochstein held talks in Beirut with Lebanese leaders about diplomatic efforts to end the conflict between Hizbollah and Israel. Hizbollah said it would not agree to a ceasefire as long as Israeli troops were fighting in Gaza.
Hours after Hochstein’s talks in Lebanon, Israeli forces launched more than a dozen airstrikes on Beirut and its suburbs, killing 63 people and injuring 234, according to Lebanese health authorities.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari on Monday accused Hizbollah of storing $500 million in cash and gold under the Sahel hospital on the southern outskirts of Beirut. He said the Israeli air force was “monitoring” the site but added that they would “not attack the hospital itself.”
The Israeli military provided no evidence for this claim, which was denied by hospital officials when they invited reporters to inspect their facility on Tuesday.
The Israeli military said it targeted Hizbollah weapons storage facilities, a naval base and other sites linked to the group in Beirut.
The conflict began after Hizbollah began firing rockets toward Israel following an October 7 attack by Hamas, forcing about 60,000 northern Israelis from their homes. According to Lebanese authorities, the Israeli attack has killed more than 2,500 people in Lebanon and forced more than 1.2 million to flee their homes, mostly in the past month.
About 80 Israeli civilians and soldiers were killed by Hizbollah fire on Israel and during Israel’s land invasion of southern Lebanon.
