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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken begins a tour of the Middle East today that includes many stops, including Israel. Secretary Blinken's visit comes amid growing fears of a spread of the conflict in the region. As Voice of America correspondent Cindy Saine reports, tensions have increased between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, after the assassination in Beirut on Tuesday of the deputy head of Hamas.
Three months since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting the Middle East again. This is his fourth visit since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 Israelis.
The announcement was made Thursday by State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
" The secretary will visit Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Egypt, for meetings with his counterparts, as well as others, " he said.
Fears over the escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict into a regional war have grown following the assassination on Tuesday in Lebanon of the deputy head of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri. Israel has not confirmed, but has not rejected the suspicions that it is behind this attack.
Mr. Miller said that Secretary Blinken will work to reduce tensions.
It will focus on preventing the escalation of the conflict, as it has done continuously since October 7. It will ask the parties to take specific steps, including on how they could use their influence, with others in the region, to avoid the escalation of the conflict. It is not in anyone's interest, not Israel, not the region or the world, for this conflict to spread beyond Gaza ," he said.
After the October 7 attack, Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas leaders. Authorities have said that Israeli forces located on the country's northern border with Lebanon are on high alert.
President Joe Biden has been heavily criticized for strongly supporting Israel's right to defend itself after the attack, at a time when more than 22,000 Palestinians have been reported killed in Gaza since the war began.
Experts say critics often have unrealistic expectations about the influence that President Biden or Secretary Blinken have on Israel's decisions about the war.
" I think there's a myth that the United States has a magic button or lever that if they just cut off certain arms shipments, or if, as some senators have said, they cut off some funding that helps Israel defend itself, that in some way way it would force Israel to think differently about the threat it faces ," says Brian Katulis, of the Middle East Institute.
The State Department said that protection and aid for civilians in Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank will be at the top of Mr. Blinken's agenda in each of his stops in the region./ VOA
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