By Michael Crowley, Aaron Boxerman and Gabby Sobelman
Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Tuesday “to capitalize on” the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and end the war in the Gaza Strip, a State Department spokesperson said.
On his 11th trip to the Middle East since the conflict began a little more than a year ago, Blinken met with Netanyahu for 2 1/2 hours, making the case that with the death of Sinwar, Israel should seize the opportunity “by securing the release of all hostages and ending the conflict in Gaza in a way that provides lasting security for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” the spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said in a statement.
Netanyahu agreed that the killing of Sinwar “may positively impact the release of the hostages, the achievement of all of the war’s goals, and the day after the war,” his office said in a statement about the meeting. But the statement also said Netanyahu had emphasized the need to fight Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran, and did not mention a truce.
President Joe Biden and his administration have repeatedly tried to calm the widening conflict in the Middle East, where Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran, which backs both armed groups. But Netanyahu and the militant groups have repeatedly rebuffed entreaties to show more restraint and reach a cease-fire.
Netanyahu and Blinken, according to both statements, discussed one of the biggest unanswered questions about the conflict: how Gaza will be governed after the war.
Miller said Blinken also “emphasized the need for Israel to take additional steps to increase and sustain the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and ensure that assistance reaches civilians throughout Gaza,” Miller said. The Biden administration has warned that the United States could curtail military aid to Israel if it does not allow more aid to reach the territory.
Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday hours after Hezbollah launched a missile attack at an Israeli military base near Tel Aviv that sent residents fleeing into shelters but caused no casualties or significant damage. A Hezbollah drone attack Saturday did minor damage to Netanyahu’s coastal house, which his office called an attempt to assassinate the prime minister.
The Israeli military has continued its attacks in Lebanon despite a U.S. envoy warning Monday that the conflict there had “escalated out of control.”
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