Blinken to Visit Israel in Latest Push for Gaza Cease-Fire

Blinken to Visit Israel in Latest Push for Gaza Cease-Fire

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is expected to depart on Monday in a renewed effort to bring calm to the region. The State Department did not say which other countries he might stop in.

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By Michael Crowley

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will depart on Monday for another trip to the Middle East that will include a stop in Israel, as the Biden administration makes a renewed effort to bring calm to the region after the death of the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Mr. Blinken, who is making his 11th trip to the region since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, is returning to the country after bypassing it during his last such trip a month ago. An announcement from the State Department did not say which other countries Mr. Blinken would visit, although his past trips have included Egypt and Jordan, as well as the Gulf Arab states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

President Biden and other U.S. officials say that Mr. Sinwar’s killing could create new opportunities for diplomacy, especially around the long-stalled effort to reach a cease-fire in Gaza that would free hostages held by Hamas and allow for a surge of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians trapped there. But Hamas and Israeli leaders have vowed to fight on, and many analysts doubt that a deal has moved within reach.

Mr. Blinken will arrive in the region at a time when it is bracing for Israel to attack Iran in retaliation for an Iranian ballistic missile barrage on Israel earlier this month. American and Israeli officials have been discussing the response in recent weeks, and Israeli officials have told Washington that they will refrain from attacks on Iranian nuclear or energy sites that could lead to dramatic escalation between the countries.

Mr. Blinken will have several other agenda items during his trip, including planning for the governance and security of Gaza after Israel’s military campaign in the territory ends, the State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, said in the statement announcing the travel.

Mr. Biden previewed that part of Mr. Blinken’s trip on Thursday, telling reporters that he had spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel about it. “We’re going to work out what is the day after now — how do we secure Gaza and move on?” Mr. Biden said.

As Israel continues to pound southern Lebanon in a separate campaign against the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah, Mr. Blinken will also discuss “the need to reach a diplomatic resolution to the conflict,” Mr. Miller’s statement said.

The Biden administration has also spent more than two years pursuing a wider regional deal in which Saudi Arabia and Israel would establish formal diplomatic relations for the first time if Israel committed to the creation of a Palestinian state and the U.S. entered into a security agreement with Saudi Arabia.

With Israel still fighting in Gaza, and now at war in Lebanon, the prospects for such a deal during Mr. Biden’s presidency appear slim at best. But Mr. Blinken insisted last month that it was still a realistic goal.