The U. S.’s best diplomat and Israel’s Prime Minister , Benjamin Netanyahu , agreed Tuesday that the shooting of , Hamas , head Yahya Sinwar opens new opportunities for ending the conflict in the , Gaza Strip , but gave no indication that a 2 1/2-hour appointment yielded an authority on what comes second.
Secretary of State , Antony Blinken, on his 11th excursion to the place since , Hamas , attacked , Israel , in , October 2023, called for” charting a new way ahead” that “allows Palestinians to rebuild their lives and provides governance, security and rebuilding for Gaza”, according to a , U. S.  , display of their appointment in , Jerusalem.
Blinken’s conversation with Israeli authorities included a detailed discussion of wartime scenarios, including a change to integration of the , West Bank , and , Gaza , under the , Palestinian Authority, a , State Department , national told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Netanyahu, who has vowed to carry on the fight against , Iran-backed , Hamas , in , Gaza , and , Hezbollah , in , Lebanon, said that Sinwar’s killing by Israeli soldiers last week could help achieve Israel’s war objectives, according to his office. But he also emphasized the need for the , U. S.  , and , Israel , to join forces against” the Iranian threat”.
The , U. S.  , is pressing , Israel , to avoid hitting Iran’s oil-export or nuclear sites in its promised retaliation for Iranian missile strikes on , Oct. 1., fearing that could trigger a regional war and push up energy prices.
On Tuesday,  , Iran , reiterated that Arab states should n’t let the , U. S.  , or , Israel , use their airspace or bases in their territories for Israel’s expected strike.  , Iran , has warned them that, if they do, they’ll be potential targets in a potential counter-strike.
Blinken, who also plans to stop in , Riyadh , on this trip to consult with Saudi officials, is pursuing what will likely be his last attempt to achieve a halt to fighting before the , U. S.  , presidential election on , Nov. 5. Given that Israeli leaders are encouraged by their recent successes on the battlefield and determined to carry on, the White House may have to be content with preventing hostilities from escalating before the vote.
Gaza , has been pounded by Israeli air strikes and ground attacks for more than a year since , Iran-backed , Hamas , swarmed into southern , Israel. Still,  , Hamas , fighters are regrouping in part of Gaza’s north, spurring , Israel , to step up operations.
Israel-Hezbollah strikes
Netanyahu is adamant , Israel , will continue with its military operations against , Hezbollah, regardless of international pressure for a de-escalation, according to a Western official who met him in recent days.
Most of Israel’s military force is now concentrated in , Lebanon, the domain of , Hezbollah, which has also been severely weakened by Israeli attacks and had most of its leadership killed in the last six weeks.
Israeli Defense Secretary , Yoav Gallant , said in a meeting with Blinken Tuesday that its attacks in , Lebanon ,” will continue systematically until it is possible to ensure the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes and the withdrawal of , Hezbollah , forces from southern Lebanon”, according to his office.
Israel , and , Hezbollah , continued to trade heavy fire over the past 24 hours. An Israeli overnight attack near Beirut ‘s , Rafik Hariri University Hospital , killed 13 people including a child, and wounded almost 60, according to Lebanese officials. They said the strike caused major damage to the hospital, one of the biggest in , Lebanon.
Israel , said it did n’t hit the hospital and instead struck a nearby , Hezbollah , target.
Hezbollah , launched several missiles toward , Tel Aviv , hours before Blinken landed. The Israeli military claimed that it dropped the majority of the projectiles into open areas or intercepted them. The salvo still required hundreds of thousands of people to hurl themselves into shelters.
This week, the Israeli military widened its campaign in , Lebanon , to target , Al Qard Al Hassan Association, a bank-like institution it says helps fund Hezbollah’s operations. It also accused the Shiite group of hoarding cash and gold in a bunker under another , Beirut , hospital.
Administrators of the hospital, Sahel General, denied that.
UN resolution
Biden’s main envoy for Israel-Hezbollah affairs,  , Amos Hochstein, was in , Beirut , on Monday to speak to allies of the militant group. He was trying to see under what conditions a , U. N. Security Council , resolution — known as 1701, it helped end a 2006 war between , Israel , and , Hezbollah , — could be fully implemented by both sides.
Israel , wants , Hezbollah , to disarm and keep its fighters away from the Israeli border, as per 1701’s stipulations.
But , Israel , has given no indication it will cease surveillance flights over , Lebanon , — a breach of the resolution — and has indicated it wants the right to strike , Hezbollah , post-conflict if its fighters approach the Israeli territory. Although that would be challenging for Lebanese politicians to accept, it would enable Netanyahu’s main goal of allowing the tens of thousands of Israelis who have been displaced from northern communities to return home.
Israel’s attacks on , Lebanon , have forced about 1.2 million people — out of a population of roughly 5.5 million — to flee their homes.
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