Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Israeli Defense Minister
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel’s War Cabinet today in Tel Aviv.
The meeting between America’s top diplomat and Israel’s defense minister focused on the ongoing Israel-Hamas War in Gaza which has now claimed more than 23,000 lives. This was Secretary Blinken’s fourth visit to Israel and the fifth to the wider region since the October 7th terrorist attacks in which 1,139 Israelis were killed by Hamas militants.
The war, now entering its fourth month, has continued to intensify from air strikes to a ground invasion by Israeli forces into the Palestinian enclave. Nearly all Western nations have called for some ceasefire over the past month, with the exception of the US, which has unconditionally supported Israel at the UN. US President Joe Biden, however, has clearly reiterated that although Israel has a right to prevent a subsequent attack from ever originating from Gaza, the US does not support long-term Israeli occupation of Gaza.
The tone of Secretary Blinken and the Biden administration has changed recently towards exploring a humanitarian ceasefire. In the long term, expect this meeting and future US-Israeli meetings to feature humanitarian efforts more poignantly. In the short term, expect Blinken to continue his diplomatic efforts in neighboring Arab states to ensure existing and potential humanitarian corridors in Jordan or Egypt.