The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken upon his arrival in Tel Aviv on Jan. 8, 2024, during his week-long trip aimed at easing tensions in the Middle East. (Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/AFP)
BEIRUT — More than three months after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Tuesday in Tel Aviv for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to spare Palestinian civilians trapped in the besieged territory.
During his fourth tour in the Middle East since the war began, Blinken reiterated to Netanyahu "the support of the United States for Israel's right to prevent a repetition of the attacks of Oct. 7 and emphasized the importance of avoiding further civilian casualties and protecting civilian infrastructure in Gaza," according to a statement from the US State Department.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that they "will change the situation on the northern front with Lebanon to ensure the return of Israelis," Al Arabiya reported.
The Israel-Hamas war was triggered by a bloody attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed around 1,140 people, according to an AFP count based on the Israeli toll.
A total of 185 soldiers have been killed since the start of the ground offensive on Oct. 27, including nine on Monday, according to a new tally released on Tuesday.
Israeli army strikes, which have pledged to destroy Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union, have killed over 23,210, mostly women and minors, according to a toll released by Gaza's health ministry on Tuesday.
The Israeli army continued its bombardments against Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, while Blinken is making a new visit to Israel to try to prevent the conflict from spreading in the region.
An AFP correspondent reported intense bombardments overnight in Khan Younis and Rafah, the major cities in the southern besieged Palestinian territory, where thousands of people have taken refuge since the beginning of the war on Oct. 7.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced that its forces had killed about 40 militants in the past 24 hours as part of "expanded ground operations including airstrikes" in Khan Younis, and that its troops had seized weapons.
In a speech on Tuesday in Doha, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called on Muslim countries to "support" the movement in its war against Israel in the Gaza Strip by providing "weapons."
Fears of a regional escalation of the conflict between Israel and its other enemies, an informal alliance of armed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, have continued to grow.
Israeli airstrikes and exchanges of fire with Hezbollah are almost daily. On Monday, Hezbollah announced the death of Wissam Hassan Tawil, one of its commanders, in an Israeli strike.
In retaliation, Hezbollah announced on Tuesday that it had targeted an Israeli army command center in the northern part of the territory using several suicide drones. The latter confirmed that "an enemy aircraft had fallen on its base," causing no casualties or damage.
'A very difficult time'
Two other central figures of Hamas have been killed in strikes in recent days: One, Hassan Akasha, in Syria on Monday, and the other, Saleh al-Arouri, killed in early January in Lebanon.
On Tuesday morning, a small group of protesters demanding the release of hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7 attack gathered outside the Kempinski hotel in Tel Aviv, where Blinken was meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, AFP observed. "Bring them back now," they chanted.
During his meeting with Herzog, Blinken discussed the "very difficult time" that Israel is going through, while saying that the country had "real chances" of integration with its Arab neighbors.
He had stated on Monday evening that he had discussed, during a visit to Saudi Arabia, the normalization of ties with Israel. Negotiations for normalization with Israel had been suspended a week after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden asserted that he was working "quietly with the Israeli government to get it to reduce" its presence in Gaza.
'Declared policy' of famine
In Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry lamented, during a visit from his German counterpart, that "no real effort to prevent the displacement of Palestinians" had been made by the Israelis. International organizations have warned of the ongoing health disaster in this territory where 85% of the population have been displaced and where humanitarian aid is trickling in.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the United States, joined on Monday the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem in condemning a "declared policy" of famine in Gaza conducted by Israel.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced a new phase of the war in Gaza. Army spokesman Daniel Hagari told the New York Times that it would involve fewer soldiers and airstrikes, and added that troop deployment would be reduced starting in January.
"Although there are still terrorists and weapons in the north, they no longer operate in an organized military framework," he said at a press briefing, adding that the troops "are now operating differently in this area." He also said that the fighting would continue throughout 2024.
The conflict has also escalated violence to an unprecedented level in nearly twenty years in the occupied West Bank.
And since the start of the war, cross-border hostilities have killed more than 180 in Lebanon, including more than 135 Hezbollah fighters, according to an AFP count. On the Israeli side, nine soldiers and five civilians have been killed, according to authorities.