Iran: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israel to avoid any escalation with Iran and said “now is the time” on Wednesday to help to calm the situation in Gaza.
Israel is fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas backed by Iran in Gaza, hence it has pledged to respond against Iran’s October 1 missile launch.
Following military warnings of people of some coastal cities to evacuate ahead of operations targeted at Hezbollah, state media in Lebanon alleged an Israeli drone strike on Tyre.
AFPTV pictures showed a column of thick black smoke rising from the once-vibrant Mediterranean coast city following the strike, setting off a fresh migration from there.
“The situation is very bad; we’re evacuating people,” Head of Tyre’s disaster management team remarked, Mortada Mhanna.
Media officer for the unit, Bilal Kashmar said, “you could say that the entire city of Tyre is being evacuated.”
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Blinken’s visit to the region marks his eleventh; his first since Israel-Hezbollah fighting escalated to all-out war late last month.
Starting the war in Gaza, an AFP investigation of Israeli official figures reveals that Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel killed 1,506 people, mostly civilians.
Based on figures from the health ministry of the enclave operated by Hamas, which the UN considers as accurate, Israel’s retaliatory attack has caused 42,718 dead in Gaza, mostly civilian.
“Since October 7, a year ago, Israel has essentially met its strategic objectives for Gaza. Now is the chance to turn those victories into strategic success as Blinken leaves Israel after talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other important officials.
Regarding relief to Gaza, Blinken said he noted “progress being made, which is good, but more progress needs to be made and, most importantly, it needs to be sustained.”
The US top diplomat said in reference to Israel’s promise to retaliate for Iran’s October 1 missile launch: “It’s also very important that Israel respond in ways that do not create greater escalation.”
Following Israel, Blinken will travel Saudi Arabia, postponing discussions on a normalisation agreement until a Palestinian state is created.
To progress an accord with Saudi Arabia, the US official recommended Israel to seize what he referred to as a “great opportunity”.
Former US attempts to stop the Gaza war and reduce the regional impact have failed; similarly, a bid sponsored by President Joe Biden and his French colleague Emmanuel Macron aimed at assuring a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon failed.
hosts still living in Gaza
Blinken recommended his friend to seize on the murder of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar in Gaza to promote a truce during his Tuesday meeting with Netanyahu.
Sinwar was architect of the October 7, 2023 strike beginning the Gaza conflict.
Declaring his killing, Netanyahu said it did not imply the fight was ended but rather might indicate the beginning of the end.
The militants returned 251 hostages from Gaza as well. There are still ninety-seven there, thirty-four claimed dead Israeli military men among them.
During his discussion with the Israeli premier in Jerusalem, Blinken “underscored the need to capitalise” on the killing of Sinwar, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
This will be achieved, he said, “securing the release of all hostages and ending the conflict in Gaza in a way that provides lasting security for Israelis and Palestinians both.”
According to a statement issued by the prime minister’s office, Netanyahu told Blinken that Sinwar’s death “could have a positive impact on the return of the hostages.”
Blinken also lobbied for more supplies to be let into besieged Gaza as concerns for tens of thousands of civilians caught by conflict in the remote north grew.
Israel began a major land and aerial assault in northern Gaza this month, driven to stop Hamas fighters from assembling there once more.
Said Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hossam Abu Safia said, “no medicine or medical supplies” is the only medical facility still somewhat running in the assigned area.
“We cannot help the people passing away in the streets. Bodies are laying on the road.
Children of Hezbollah
After more than a year of conflict with Hamas in Gaza, Israel focused on Lebanon in late September, resolved to protect her northern border against Hezbollah’s bombardment.
An AFP analysis of Lebanese health ministry data reveals Israel sent ground troops late last month in a conflict that has claimed at least 1,552 deaths since September 23 and escalated air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds around the country.
Claiming to have fired rockets at an Israeli military intelligence base in Tel Aviv’s commercial centre, Wednesday’s strikes on Israel by Hezbollah stayed in their intensity.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army claimed to have killed the Hezbollah cleric believed to succeed dead leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike three weeks prior.
Hezbollah has not published a statement confirming the death of high-level official associated to the party Hashem Safieddine, but the militant leader has been absent from correspondence since the strikes.
Head of Israeli army Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said in a statement “We have reached Nasrallah, his replacement and most of Hezbollah’s senior leadership.”
Once largely inhabited bastion of Hezbollah, the Israeli forces once more attacked these regions on Tuesday following fresh requests for civilians to escape the southern suburbs of Beirut.
