Blinken back to Middle East to push for Gaza truce

WASHINGTON

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed Tuesday in Israel in a renewed push for a Gaza ceasefire, days after Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Blinken, launching his regional tour exactly two weeks before U.S. elections, will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with U.S. officials hopeful for progress but downplaying chances of an immediate breakthrough during his trip.

It will be the 11th trip to the Middle East by the top U.S. diplomat since war broke out a year ago, with Blinken on his last visit to Israel in August warning it may have been the "last chance" for a U.S.-led ceasefire plan.

That push did not succeed, and the conflict has escalated and expanded since then, with Israel pounding Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and warning of a new strike directly on Iran, whose clerical leaders back both Hamas and Hezbollah.

U.S. President Joe Biden, who personally laid out the ceasefire plan on May 31 that would also free hostages from Gaza, has seen new hope since Israel last week killed Sinwar.

Israel’s intelligence organization Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar visited Cairo over the weekend to discuss the attempted revival of hostage deal negotiations.

Several media reports said that Israel was planning to use Sinwar’s body, which was transferred to a secret location inside Israel after it was autopsied, as “another bargaining chip” in the negotiations.

The Prime Minister’s Office declined to confirm the reports, and instead said that Israel “will not end the war until we achieve all of our goals.”

Security cabinet also examined “new ideas” for hostage deal after Sinwar killing, according to a statement.

Border sees ‘Gaza settlement conference’

Despite efforts to revive ceasefire talks, hundreds of right-wing and ultranationalist activists descend on an encampment in the Gaza border region for a conference on how to reestablish Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.

Titled "Preparing for Settlement in Gaza,” the event was conducted at the site, which faces the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza where Israeli extremists hope to establish one of the first new Jewish settlements in the war-torn territory.

Several cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, was scheduled to attend and address the conference. The event took place despite Israel’s earlier statement that it does not seek to rule Gaza or live in the strip.

 Ceasefire efforts in Lebanon

Washington has also taken steps to initiate ceasefire talks in Lebanon, with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein meeting with Lebanese officials in Beirut on Monday on conditions for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The efforts came on the same day the U.S. media reported that Israel handed the United States a document last week with its conditions for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Lebanon.

According to a report in Axios, citing two U.S. officials and two Israeli officials, Israel has demanded its troops be allowed to engage in “active enforcement” to make sure Hezbollah doesn’t rearm and rebuild its military infrastructure close to the border.

Israel also demanded its air force has freedom of operation in Lebanese airspace, the report added.

A U.S. official told the news outlet that it was highly unlikely that Lebanon and the international community would agree to Israel’s condition

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Monday that the missile defense system sent by the United States to Israel is “in place” and ready for use when needed.

“We have the ability to put it into operation very quickly,” Austin said. The THAAD defense system is one of the U.S. military’s most powerful anti-missile weapons capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.