U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Friday to press for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into besieged Gaza, while Israeli troops tightened their encirclement of Gaza City, the focus of Israel’s campaign to crush the enclave’s ruling Hamas group.
On the northern border with Lebanon, tensions continued to escalate ahead of a speech planned later Friday by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, his first public comments since Hamas attacked Israel last month, stoking fears the conflict could become a regional one.
