U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to meet Israeli leaders on Tuesday in his quest to prevent the Gaza Strip conflict from growing into a regional conflagration as the Israeli military said its fight against Hamas will rage all year.
Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv late Monday to brief Israeli officials on his two days of talks with Arab leaders on ending the war triggered by Hamas militants' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, which by Israeli tallies killed about 1,200 people.
He also said he would press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government "on the absolute imperative to do more to protect civilians and to do more to make sure that humanitarian assistance is getting into the hands of those who need it." Israel must allow displaced Palestinian civilians to return to their homes in Gaza, Blinken said in response to calls by right-wing members of Israel's ruling coalition for them to move elsewhere.