U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Wednesday for talks with top Israeli officials regarding the ongoing offensive against Gaza and the potential for a cease-fire agreement.
According to Haaretz, Blinken's agenda includes discussions on ongoing hostage negotiations, Israel's military actions in Gaza, the escalating humanitarian crisis and post-war planning.
Previous communications from the U.S. Department of State indicated that Blinken is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and President Isaac Herzog.
Blinken has so far visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar as part of his current tour in the region, and is also scheduled to visit Ramallah to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
It is his sixth visit to Israel since Oct. 7, as part of his fifth tour in the region, aimed at finding a solution to the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
Before his arrival in Israel, the Hamas group said it had delivered its response to Egypt and Qatar regarding the "framework agreement" for a proposed prisoner swap deal and ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas is believed to still be holding around 136 Israelis.
Israel launched a deadly offensive on Gaza following an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas, killing at least 2,585 Palestinians and injuring 6,978 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the U.N.
