
WASHINGTON — On November 3, the United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken began a diplomatic mission that accounted for a busy 72 hours in the Middle East. He made stops in Israel and Jordan with two surprise trips, one to Gaza and the other to Baghdad.
His mission was to find a diplomatic way for there to be a humanitarian pause to the fighting in the war between Israel and Hamas. Blinken thinks that a pause in the war allowing for increased humanitarian aid for Gaza in exchange for the immediate return of the over 240 hostages being held by Hamas, could be a deal he could broker.