Blinken in Israel with aim of preventing escalation of Gaza conflict

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Monday, a visit aimed at efforts to prevent escalation of the Gaza war into a wider regional conflict.

Blinken is scheduled to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog, followed by meetings with counterpart Israel Katz, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He will also hold a session with families of Israeli hostages in Gaza, and opposition leader Yair Lapid.

Blinken is expected to discuss with Israeli officials steps to avoid further escalation on the front with Hezbollah in wake of the recent killing of Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri and Hezbollah's senior military commander Wissam al-Tawil.

He will also likely urge Israel to decrease the number of casualties in Gaza, increase the humanitarian aid into Gaza and ensure that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced from the enclave.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing more than 23,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring nearly 59,000 others, according to local health authorities.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas offensive.

About 85% of Gazans have been displaced, while all of them are food insecure, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and ⁠less than half of aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.

Blinken is on his fourth tour to the Middle East in just three months.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar