US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was back in the Middle East on Monday warning that Israel’s war against Hamas could “easily metastasize”, amid warnings that Iran is stoking a wider conflict.
America’s top diplomat was due to hold talks in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia before heading on to Israel, whose leaders are vowing no let-up in their offensive in the Gaza Strip despite a soaring civilian death toll.
Mr Blinken’s latest diplomatic tour of the region has already taken in Jordan and Qatar. Speaking in Doha, where Hamas’s political leadership is based, he warned: "This is a moment of profound tension for the region.
“This is a conflict that could easily metastasize, causing even more insecurity and suffering," he added, after attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Red Sea shipping triggered a US-led maritime intervention.
Mr Blinken also said he would urge Israeli leaders to do more to prevent mass casualties in the war and that civilians must not be pressed to leave Gaza, after declarations by some far-right ministers in Israel that the territory should be cleared of Palestinians.
Jordan's King Abdullah urged the US official to use Washington's influence over Israel to press it for an immediate ceasefire and warned of the "catastrophic repercussions" of the ongoing military campaign.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s determination to eradicate Hamas following the terrorist group’s murderous rampage across southern Israel on October 7.
"The war must not be stopped until we achieve all the goals: the elimination of Hamas, the return of all our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," he said at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.
"I say this to both our enemies and our friends."
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel was also intent on deterring other potential Iranian-backed adversaries such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"My basic view: We are fighting an axis, not a single enemy," he told the Wall Street Journal. "Iran is building up military power around Israel in order to use it."
Hezbollah struck an air traffic control base in northern Israel, the Israeli military said Sunday, following Israel’s suspected assassination of a top Hamas official in Hezbollah-controlled south Beirut.
October’s surprise attack by Hamas on Israeli communities killed some 1,200 people, while some 240 people were taken hostage. Up to 136 remain held in Gaza and their families have been urging Mr Netanyahu to prioritise their release.
The Israeli offensive has so far killed 22,835 Palestinians in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said on Sunday, with 111 more dead and 250 wounded in the previous 24 hours.
The fighting has displaced most of Gaza's 2.3 million population, left many homes in ruins, and caused acute shortages of food, water and medicines.
