US top diplomat Blinken arrives in Israel on 3rd leg of Mideast tour

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Friday from Egypt on the third leg of his fresh Middle East tour.

Blinken is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials during his visit.

The visit is dominated by efforts to reach an agreement on a hostage swap deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, to establish a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, and discuss the risks of Israeli army's ground assault in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israel detains at least 9,100 Palestinians in its prisons, according to official Palestinian sources, while the total number of hostages held in Gaza ranges between 240 and 253, with three liberated and 105 released by Hamas during a November deal.

However, the Palestinian resistance group said 70 hostages were killed as a result of Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Blinken arrived in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Thursday for talks with Arab foreign ministers about a Gaza cease-fire.

A new round of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas is underway in Doha, mediated by Qatar and Egypt and with the participation of the US, to reach a cease-fire and hostage exchange deal.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

Nearly 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and more than 74,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi