US’ Antony Blinken returns to Middle East in another push to defuse conflicts

The US is trying to defuse conflicts after Israel raised the stakes by assassinating the leaders of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza

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Rescue workers use a bulldozer to remove rubble of destroyed buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit several branches of the Hezbollah-run al-Qard al-Hassan in Beirut’s southern suburb. Photo: AP

Published: 9:13pm, 21 Oct 2024

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make another push for a ceasefire when he heads to the Middle East on Monday, the State Department said, seeking to kick-start negotiations to end the Gaza war and also defuse the spillover conflict in Lebanon.

The top US diplomat’s latest trip to the region, his eleventh since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas that triggered the Gaza war, comes even as Israel has intensified its military campaign in Gaza and in Lebanon against the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia.

The US is trying to defuse complex interlocked conflicts after Israel raised the stakes by assassinating the leaders of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza while showing no sign of reining in its ground and aerial offensives.

Killing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week after a year of trying to locate him was a major victory for Israel. But its leaders say the war must go on until the Islamist group is eliminated as a military and security threat to Israel.

Iran and its allies Hezbollah and Hamas, meanwhile, have said Sinwar’s death in a gun battle last week with Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza will not weaken their resolve.

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How Israel killed Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas chief believed to be October 7 mastermind

Israel’s assassination of Hamas leaders in the past dealt heavy setbacks to the group but did not bring it to its knees.