U.S. top diplomat Antony Blinken told Israel Wednesday that "now is the time" to end the Gaza conflict while also urging it to de-escalate tensions with Iran.
Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and has pledged to hit back against Iran's Oct. 1 missile strike.
Blinken's visit to the region is his 11th since the start of the war in Gaza and his first since Israel-Hezbollah violence escalated to all-out war late last month.
Previous U.S. efforts to end the Gaza war and contain the regional fallout have failed.
The war in Gaza began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 incursion of Israel, which caused 1,206 deaths, according to Israeli official figures.
Israel's genocidal war in the Palestinian territory, in comparison, has killed 42,718 people, mostly women and children, according to the territory's Health Ministry which the U.N. considers reliable.
"Since Oct. 7 a year ago, Israel has achieved most of its strategic objectives when it comes to Gaza ... Now is the time to turn those successes into enduring, strategic success," Blinken said as he left Israel, following meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials.
On aid to Gaza, Blinken said he saw "progress being made, which is good, but more progress needs to be made and, most critically, it needs to be sustained."
Of Israel's pledge to retaliate for Iran's Oct. 1 missile attack, the U.S. secretary of state said: "It's also very important that Israel respond in ways that do not create greater escalation."
After Israel, Blinken began a visit to Saudi Arabia, which has put on hold talks toward a normalization deal with Israel until a Palestinian state is created.
The U.S. diplomat urged Israel to seize what he described as an "incredible opportunity in this region to move in a totally different direction."
"Saudi Arabia would be right at the heart of that, and that includes potentially normalization of relations with Israel," he said.
Blinken will then visit Qatar and Britain, where he will hold talks with Arab counterparts on the Gaza and Lebanon wars.
In his meeting with Netanyahu on Tuesday, Blinken urged his ally to seize on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza to work towards a cease-fire.
Israel and the U.S. accuse Sinwar of being the architect of Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 incursion.
The Palestinian resistance group took 251 hostages back into Gaza. Ninety-seven are still being held there, including 34 the Israeli military has said are dead.
Blinken "underscored the need to capitalize" on the death of Sinwar, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
This would be done 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," he added.
Netanyahu told Blinken that Sinwar's death "could have a positive impact on the return of the hostages," according to a statement from the prime minister's office.
Blinken also pressed for more aid to be allowed into Gaza as concerns rise for tens of thousands of civilians trapped by fighting in the hard-to-reach north.
Israel launched a major air and ground assault in northern Gaza this month, alleging Hamas was regrouping in the area.
The only medical facility still partially functioning in the targeted area has "no medicine or medical supplies," warned Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hossam Abu Safia.
"People are being killed in the streets, and we can't help them. Bodies are lying on the streets."
The World Health Organization said it was forced to postpone the last phase of a polio vaccination drive in Gaza due to "intense bombardment" and violence in the north.
