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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said “now is the time” to end the conflict in Gaza, calling on Israel to avoid further escalation with Iran.
Israel has been in constant battle with Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and has pledged to hit back against Iran’s October 1 missile strike.
In Lebanon, state media had reported an Israeli drone strike on Tyre, after the military warned residents of parts of the coastal city to flee ahead of operations targeting Hezbollah.
Mortada Mhanna, who heads the Tyre's disaster management said, “The situation is very bad, we’re evacuating people."
“You could say that the entire city of Tyre is being evacuated,” said Bilal Kashmar, the unit’s media officer.
The war in Gaza began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed 42,718 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry which the UN considers reliable.
Speaking on the conflict, Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials in a meeting that, “Since October 7 a year ago, Israel has achieved most of its strategic objectives when it comes to Gaza… Now is the time to turn those successes into enduring, strategic success."
On aid to Gaza, Blinken said he saw “progress being made, which is good, but more progress needs to be made and, most critically, it needs to be sustained”.
The US diplomat said: “It’s also very important that Israel respond in ways that do not create greater escalation.”
The US diplomat urged Israel to seize what he described as an “incredible opportunity” to move towards a deal with Saudi Arabia.
Hostages still in Gaza
In his meeting with Netanyahu on Tuesday, Blinken urged his ally to seize on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza to work towards a ceasefire.
Sinwar was the architect of the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war.
Netanyahu told Blinken that Sinwar’s death “could have a positive impact on the return of the hostages”, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
Blinken also pressed for more aid to be allowed into besieged Gaza as concerns rise for tens of thousands of civilians trapped by fighting in the hard-to-reach north.
Israel launched a major air and ground assault in northern Gaza this month, vowing to stop Hamas militants from regrouping in the area.
The only medical facility still partially functioning in the targeted area has “no medicine or medical supplies”, warned Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hossam Abu Safia.
“People are being killed in the streets, and we can’t help them. Bodies are lying on the streets.”
Hezbollah heir
After nearly a year of war with Hamas in Gaza, Israel shifted its focus to Lebanon in late September, vowing to secure its northern border under fire from Hezbollah.
Israel ramped up its air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds around the country and sent in ground troops late last month, in a war that has killed at least 1,552 people since September 23, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures.
Hezbollah kept up its attacks on Israel Wednesday, saying it had fired rockets at an Israeli military intelligence base in the suburbs of commercial hub Tel Aviv.
AFP
