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US Secretary of State Blinken arrives in Israel to revive ceasefire talks

1 min

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday for meetings with Israeli leaders, the first stop of a wider Middle East tour to launch another push for an elusive ceasefire.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 22, 2024. Reuters/Nathan Howard

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday for meetings with Israeli leaders, the first stop of a wider Middle East tour to launch another push for an elusive ceasefire.

The top U.S. diplomat's latest trip - his 11th to the region since Palestinian Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, triggering the Gaza war - comes as the Israeli military has intensified its campaign in the Palestinian enclave as well as in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia.

Blinken will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and other officials during the day as part of a week-long Middle East visit that also includes Jordan and Qatar.

Diplomatic efforts have thus far failed to bring an end to the year-long Gaza war and its spillover conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which has dramatically intensified in recent weeks after a year of exchanging fire mostly across Lebanon's southern border.

Hezbollah early on Tuesday morning said it had launched volleys of rockets at two Israeli military bases near Tel Aviv and a naval base west of Haifa.

Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Tel Aviv

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