Blinken insists to Netanyahu of their assembly on the necessity to “ensure lasting peace” for Israel and the area | EUROtoday

This is the fourth tour of the top of US diplomacy to attempt to keep away from the unfold of battle.

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinkenhas met with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahuas a part of his go to to the nation and his regional tour, the fourth, to deescalate the battle in Gazaand has insisted on “the need” to attain “a lasting peace” for Israel, the Palestinians and the complete area.

“The secretary reiterated the need to ensure lasting peace and sustainable for Israel and the region“even by way of the creation of a Palestinian state,” Blinken said in his meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem, the US State Department reported.

The highest representative of American diplomacy has reaffirmed his support “for Israel’s proper to stop a repetition of the terrorist assaults of October 7”, when the Palestinian Islamist group Hams attacked Israeli territory and caused some 1,200 deaths and kidnapped more than two hundreds of people.

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Tensions in the Middle East threaten regional war

• Writing:
  LARA VILLALN Istanbul

Tensions within the Middle East threaten regional battle

At the identical time, he has emphasised “the importance of prevent further harm to civilians and protect civilian infrastructure in Gaza”, the place the Israeli offensive, with assaults by land, sea and air, has precipitated the loss of life of greater than 23,000 folks and nearly 60,000 injured.

Blinken has additionally mentioned with Netanyahu “the ongoing efforts to secure the release” of the hostages in Gaza, at the moment greater than 130 – amongst whom there are an estimated 24 lifeless – and needed to emphasise “the importance of increasing the level of humanitarian assistance reaching civilians in Gaza.

The Secretary of State’s tour of the region has focused on seeking measures to relax tensions in the war between Israel and the Palestinian militias in Gaza, which has led to an escalation of regional violence that expanded especially with the Shiite Hizbul militia in Lebanon. -where the crossfire with Israel continues daily-, but also with rocket launches from Syria or by the Houte rebels from Yemen, which created a crisis in the Red Sea.

After landing on Monday night in Israel, Blinken has also met with the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, and the Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, to whom he conveyed “the crucial to stop the growth of the battle and search sustainable peace within the area.”

After meeting with Netanyahu, the head of US diplomacy has also found himself with the War Cabinet and the Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallantwho has also urged him to “enhance stress” on Iran, an ally of Hamas and Hizbul and archenemy of Israel.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Gallant and Blinken “analyzed safety tensions all through the Middle East and Iranian aggression in opposition to Israel by way of its ‘proxies’.”

Intense bombing

Jan Yunis y Rafahthe largest cities in the south of the besieged Palestinian territory, were once again target of intense bombing in the early morning, according to an AFP journalist. Both towns have hosted thousands of internally displaced people since the war began on October 7.

The Israeli army announced that its troops killed 40 Islamist fighters in the last 24 hours, as part of “expanded floor operations that embrace air strikes” in Khan Younis. All types of weapons were also seized, they said.

Since the beginning of the war, after the Hamas attack on October 7, fears of a spread of the conflict have intensified, with attacks launched by other enemies of Israel in the region, gathered in an informal alliance that includes groups pro-Irans from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

The Shi Lebanese movement Hizbol claimed on Tuesday to have attacked a military command center in northern Israel, in response to the deaths of Hamas’ number two on January 2, Saleh al-Arouri, and from a senior commander of his formation on Monday, Wissam al-Tawi.