Israel’s Netanyahu holds talks with US’ Blinken in Tel Aviv amid Gaza war

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held bilateral talks on Tuesday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv, according to his office.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently holding a private meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at the Kirya in Tel Aviv,” his office said in a statement.

“An expanded meeting with members of the War Cabinet will be held afterward,” it added.

No details were yet provided about the content of the talks.

Ahead of the meeting, Blinken held talks with Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

“Minister Katz extended appreciation to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Blinken for their steadfast support for the State of Israel since the incident on Oct. 7. This support has manifested in various forms and means,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Blinken, on his fourth mission to the region since October, starting this time with Türkiye, is seeking to prevent an expansion of the conflict in the region amid the deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Israel has pounded the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 23,210 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 59,167 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.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala