US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Saturday in Blinken’s latest trip to the Middle East and Europe aimed at stepping up diplomatic efforts over the war between Israel and Hamas and preventing the conflict from widening.
Antony Blinken will visit Israel, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt.
The trip will focus on preventing the Gaza conflict from spreading to the West Bank, Lebanon and the Red Sea shipping lanes.
Blinken will also reiterate calls for increased humanitarian assistance in Gaza, the State Department said.
Iran-backed Hamas launched a terror attack on Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages, Israel said. Israel’s response killed more than 22,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
On Thursday, Israel’s defence minister announced plans for a new phase of the ongoing war in Gaza, including a more targeted strategy in the north of the territory.
