Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed top Israeli leaders in back-to-back meetings Tuesday to limit civilian casualties in Gaza, avoid all-out war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and get serious about planning for what comes after the fighting finally ends, said U.S. officials.
Blinken, the top diplomat of Israel’s most vital ally, is presenting a plan for Gaza’s future to Israeli leaders based on his meetings with leaders in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Greece and Turkey before arriving in Israel.
In meetings with Israel’s president, prime minister, defense minister and emergency war cabinet, Blinken is pressing Israel to reduce the scale of civilian casualties in the Gaza war — already one of the century’s most destructive conflicts — where about 23,000 people have been killed to date, according to Gaza health officials.
But the gaps between the Israelis and Arab leaders remain vast as far-right members of the Netanyahu government call for the mass displacement of civilians from Gaza and have dismissed American calls for a “revamped and revitalized” Palestinian Authority to play a role in postwar Gaza.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
JERUSALEM — Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed top Israeli leaders in back-to-back meetings Tuesday to limit civilian casualties in Gaza, avoid all-out war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and get serious about planning for what comes after the fighting finally ends, said U.S. officials.
The two-day diplomatic blitz, capping Blinken’s fourth Middle East swing in three months, comes amid mixed signals from Israel about the pace of easing the fight in Gaza
A senior U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, confirmed that Israel has already withdrawn several thousand troops from Gaza in “a significant drawdown” in the north.
Israelis have told Washington that they intend to scale back operations significantly in the next phase of the military campaign in Gaza, according to U.S. officials, and will rely on fewer troops and reduce the kind of massive air bombardments that have destroyed high rises and leveled city blocks.
Their hope is that the actual start of troop reductions — the first since ground operations began — signal that Israeli officials are finally bending to U.S. lobbying, in addition to the economic strain of diverting tens of thousands of reservists from the workforce.
Dozens of protesters held signs and chanted outside Blinken’s hotel in Tel Aviv calling for the Biden administration to push the Netanyahu government to broker another hostage deal.
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