The Israeli army yesterday bombed Gaza and battled Hamas fighters as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was back in Israel on a regional tour aimed at stopping the war from escalating across the Middle East.
The Israeli army said its forces had killed 40 militants over the previous 24 hours in “expanded ground operations including airstrikes” in Khan Yunis, and that troops had seized AK-47 assault rifles, rocket launchers and other weapons.
Since the war broke out with the Hamas attack of Oct. 7 last year, fears have grown of an escalating conflict between Israel and its other regional enemies, a loose alliance of armed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Israeli government press office
Israel has traded cross-border fire with Hezbollah for more than three months and killed senior operatives of the Shiite Muslim militant group, as well as of Hamas, on Lebanese soil, sparking anger and threats of retaliation.
Hezbollah yesterday said that it had launched a drone attack on Israel’s “northern command center” in the city of Safed as part of its response to the killings of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri and Hezbollah field commander Wissam Tawil.
The Israeli army confirmed that a “hostile aircraft” had come down at one of its bases in the north and said that “no injuries or damage were reported.”
The US secretary of state — on his fourth Middle East tour since the war broke out — was back in Israel where he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Blinken earlier said these were “incredibly challenging times for Israel,” the fate of hostages remaining in Gaza and “the relentless efforts to bring everyone home,” after talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
He also voiced the hope that, after the war, Israel could push its regional integration efforts.
“I think there actually are real opportunities there, but we have to get through this very challenging moment,” Blinken said after meeting Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz.
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