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©(Said Khatib, AFP)
Antony Blinken, the top US diplomat, arrived in Tel Aviv late Monday as part of a regional tour aimed at preventing further escalation. This visit comes in the midst of Israel's military actions in Gaza against Hamas, and Hezbollah has reported the death of a high-ranking commander due to an Israeli strike.
Top US diplomat Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv late Monday as part of a regional tour seeking to avert regional escalation as Israel pounded Hamas-ruled Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah said an Israeli strike killed a top commander.
Palestinian militants reported fierce ground combat in southern Gaza, where Israel says its focus has shifted along with the territory's centre three months into its war with Hamas.
Sirens sounded Monday in central and southern Israel to warn of incoming rocket fire. And while battles raged in the besieged Gaza Strip, the situation to Israel's north has also caused increasing regional and global concern.
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, have engaged in regular cross-border fire during the war that began on October 7 with Hamas's unprecedented attack against Israel.
On Monday, Hezbollah announced the killing of a "commander" for the first time since October, naming him as Wissam Hassan Tawil.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/lebanon/214482"]
A security official in Lebanon, requesting anonymity for security reasons, said Tawil "had a leading role in managing Hezbollah's operations in the south", and was killed there by an Israeli strike targeting his car.
The October 7 attack by Hamas which triggered the war resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. This resulted in war in which Israel killed at least 23,084 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Hamas, considered a "terrorist" group by the United States and European Union, also took around 250 hostages, 132 of whom remain captive, Israel says. At least 25 are believed to have been killed.
US Secretary of State Blinken, on his fourth regional trip since the war began, met on Monday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after talks in the United Arab Emirates and ahead of his visit to Israel.
Before leaving Al Ula in Saudi Arabia, Blinken said: "We agreed to work together and coordinate our efforts to help Gaza stabilise and recover... and to work toward long term peace and security and stability."
Washington, Israel's main ally and arms supplier, has grown increasingly concerned over the war's civilian death toll.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/214549"]
The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of militant group Islamic Jihad, reported "fierce clashes" on Monday, involving machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, with Israeli troops in the southern city of Khan Yunis.
Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza, later released a video it claimed showed an Israeli hostage alive in its custody.
Israel's military reported its forces have "been working in recent days to expand" operations around Khan Yunis and said troops and warplanes struck 30 "significant" targets in the major city overnight Sunday-Monday.
Israeli Army Spokesperson Daniel Hagari announced to The New York Times that the Israeli military has begun a new, less intensive phase in its war against Hamas in Gaza.
The transition already in place has featured fewer ground troops and airstrikes, he says.
The comments came hours before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s expected arrival in Israel. One of the top items on his agenda is the transition to the next phase in fighting and the prevention of the conflict from spreading.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/214577"]
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
Top US diplomat Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv late Monday as part of a regional tour seeking to avert regional escalation as Israel pounded Hamas-ruled Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah said an Israeli strike killed a top commander.
Palestinian militants reported fierce ground combat in southern Gaza, where Israel says its focus has shifted along with the territory's centre three months into its war with Hamas.
Sirens sounded Monday in central and southern Israel to warn of incoming rocket fire. And while battles raged in the besieged Gaza Strip, the situation to Israel's north has also caused increasing regional and global concern.
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, have engaged in regular cross-border fire during the war that began on October 7 with Hamas's unprecedented attack against Israel.
On Monday, Hezbollah announced the killing of a "commander" for the first time since October, naming him as Wissam Hassan Tawil.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/lebanon/214482"]
A security official in Lebanon, requesting anonymity for security reasons, said Tawil "had a leading role in managing Hezbollah's operations in the south", and was killed there by an Israeli strike targeting his car.
Human Toll
The October 7 attack by Hamas which triggered the war resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. This resulted in war in which Israel killed at least 23,084 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Hamas, considered a "terrorist" group by the United States and European Union, also took around 250 hostages, 132 of whom remain captive, Israel says. At least 25 are believed to have been killed.
'Help Gaza Recover'
US Secretary of State Blinken, on his fourth regional trip since the war began, met on Monday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after talks in the United Arab Emirates and ahead of his visit to Israel.
Before leaving Al Ula in Saudi Arabia, Blinken said: "We agreed to work together and coordinate our efforts to help Gaza stabilise and recover... and to work toward long term peace and security and stability."
Washington, Israel's main ally and arms supplier, has grown increasingly concerned over the war's civilian death toll.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/214549"]
Bombardment Continues
The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of militant group Islamic Jihad, reported "fierce clashes" on Monday, involving machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, with Israeli troops in the southern city of Khan Yunis.
Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza, later released a video it claimed showed an Israeli hostage alive in its custody.
Israel's military reported its forces have "been working in recent days to expand" operations around Khan Yunis and said troops and warplanes struck 30 "significant" targets in the major city overnight Sunday-Monday.
'New Phase'
Israeli Army Spokesperson Daniel Hagari announced to The New York Times that the Israeli military has begun a new, less intensive phase in its war against Hamas in Gaza.
The transition already in place has featured fewer ground troops and airstrikes, he says.
The comments came hours before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s expected arrival in Israel. One of the top items on his agenda is the transition to the next phase in fighting and the prevention of the conflict from spreading.
[readmore url="https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/world/214577"]
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
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