Blinken arrives in Israel as US looks to renew ceasefire talks, temper strike on Iran

Top US diplomat meets with Netanyahu, will see other Israeli leaders on his 11th visit since Oct. 7 2023; will then head to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Israel, October 22, 2024 (David Azagury, US Embassy Jerusalem)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Israel, October 22, 2024 (David Azagury, US Embassy Jerusalem)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday on his 11th visit to the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, with the US hoping to revive a ceasefire-hostage deal after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Blinken met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was also meetingother top officials, including President Isaac Herzog and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

He is also expected to meet with families of the hostages who are being held in Gaza.

Following his trip to Israel, he’s set to visit a number of Arab countries, likely to include Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Hopes have been renewed that the long-stalled talks could be reignited following the killing on Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 Hamas massacre that killed some 1,200 people and saw another 251 taken hostage.

The US had described Sinwar as the major stumbling block to an agreement. However, no new talks have been scheduled in the days since his death.

The US State Department said ahead of the visit that Blinken would focus on ending the war in Gaza, securing the release of hostages held by Hamas and alleviating the humanitarian situation of Palestinian civilians in the Strip.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, is welcomed by US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew, left, and Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Director General for North America Lior Hayat in Tel Aviv, Israel Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (Nathan Howard/Pool

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken would underscore the need for a dramatic increase in the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, which Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made clear in a letter to Israeli officials last week.

The letter stated that the Biden administration could be forced by US law to curtail some forms of military aid to Israel should the delivery of humanitarian aid continue to be hindered.

Blinken’s previous trips have yielded little in the way of ending hostilities, but he has managed to increase aid deliveries to Gaza in the past.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have brokered months of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, trying to strike a deal in which the terror group would release dozens of hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Blinken also plans to speak to Israeli leaders about the expected strike on Iran and discourage any move that could massively escalate regional conflict, an official on the plane with him said.

Relatives of the Hamas hostages protest outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv ahead of a security cabinet meeting on October 20, 2024. (Oded Engel/ Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Israel is expected to respond to the massive Iranian missile strike on Israel at the beginning of the month.

Blinken’s tour comes as Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has been traveling the region in recent days to try and built support ahead of Israel’s threatened retaliatory strike. Speaking in Kuwait on Tuesday, he said Gulf Arab countries had assured him they would not allow their territory to be used for any Israeli strike.

“All the neighbors assured us that they will not allow their lands and air to be used against Iran,” Araghchi said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. “This is an expectation from all friendly and neighboring countries and we consider this a sign of friendship.”

Gulf Arab nations like the UAE and Qatar host major US military installations, and there are concerns that an all-out regional war could draw them in. Iran has repeatedly vowed to respond to any Israeli strike.

Blinken’s talks were also likely to focus on Lebanon, where Israel has expanded its attacks on the Hezbollah terror group that began firing at Israel on October 8, 2023. Israel has vowed to push Hezbollah away from the border and allow tens of thousands of residents to return to their homes in northern Israel.

Flames and smoke rise form an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP/Bilal Hussein)

Blinken landed just hours after Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into central Israel, setting off air raid sirens in the country’s most populated areas and its international airport, but causing no apparent damage or injuries.

The Israeli military said it intercepted most of the five projectiles, with one landing in an open area. Another 65 projectiles were fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Tuesday.

In parallel to Blinken’s trip, US special envoy Amos Hochstein was in the Lebanese capital on Monday amid efforts to find a diplomatic solution to fighting, telling Lebanese officials that the conflict has “escalated out of control.”

Hochstein said that Lebanon and Israel merely committing to UN Resolution 1701 would not be enough, and that Washington was working to devise a formula to end the conflict once and for all.

The resolution, which ended the last round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, calls for southern Lebanon to be free of any troops or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.

The resolution has gone largely unenforced since it was passed in 2006, allowing Hezbollah to build up a formidable arms cache and defensive capabilities, with neither UNIFIL peacekeepers nor the LAF willing to challenge the Iran-backed terror group.

Hochstein said that neither Hezbollah nor Israel had adequately implemented the resolution and that while it would be the basis for the end to current hostilities, the US was seeking to determine what more needed to be done to make sure it was implemented “fairly, accurately and transparently.”

US Envoy Amos Hochstein (L) meets with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut on October 21, 2024. (AFP)

Israel has repeatedly portrayed its offensive in southern Lebanon as essentially stepping in and doing UNIFIL’s job.

After meeting with Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, Hochstein said the US was aiming to end the conflict “as soon as possible.”

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