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US secretary of state Antony Blinken has met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the Biden administration attempts to revive stalled talks to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of hostages following the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Before the meeting in Jerusalem on Tuesday, the US state department said there was “an opportunity to move the ball forward” on ceasefire negotiations. But diplomats say there is little momentum for renewed talks as Netanyahu’s far-right government continues its offensive in Gaza and intensifies its assault against Hizbollah in Lebanon.
A few hours before Blinken’s arrival, Hizbollah fired several barrages of rockets and missiles across northern and central Israel, including at Tel Aviv and Haifa. The Lebanese militant group said it targeted the Glilot intelligence base just north of Tel Aviv and a naval base in Haifa.
The Israeli military said the Iran-backed group fired at least 80 projectiles into Israel throughout the day, with one Israeli soldier killed and three others seriously wounded in the north after a rocket detonated.
Blinken and Netanyahu met for two and half hours and discussed efforts to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon as well as Iran’s role in the region, according to statements from both their offices.
Blinken’s visit comes as the region is braced for the Israeli response to an Iranian missile attack on Israel three weeks ago. Israel has vowed a “precise and deadly” retaliation for the barrage of 180 ballistic missiles Iran fired, in what Tehran said was a response to Israel’s assassination last month of Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Tuesday that Tehran would “respond in kind” if Israel attacked the Islamic republic. Araghchi said he had received assurances from all Iran’s neighbours that “they will not permit their airspace to be used against us”, adding that Iran’s forces were “closely monitoring activities at US bases” in the region.
Israeli forces killed Sinwar, the mastermind of Hamas’s October 7 attack last year that triggered the wave of hostilities across the region, in southern Gaza last week.
Since his death, Israeli strikes have killed scores of people in northern Gaza. Israel has also widened its attacks on Hizbollah in Lebanon.
An Israeli strike killed 18 people, including four children, and wounded dozens more after hitting a narrow residential alleyway across the street from a government hospital in south Beirut on Monday night, Lebanese health officials said on Tuesday. At least four buildings were reduced to rubble by the strike.
“Why did they do this to us? This is a poor neighbourhood and we have nothing to do with anything,” said Mariam, a woman whose parents’ building had been struck, their fates unknown. “Nowhere is safe any more.”
The Israeli military said it launched the strike against a Hizbollah “target” near the hospital, but added that it was not targeting the medical facility. Residents of the area had not been warned to evacuate.
An Israeli air strike levelled a residential building approximately 10 storeys high in south Beirut on Tuesday, shortly after the military warned residents to leave the area.
In Gaza, Hamas has stuck to its position that it will accept a deal only if Israel agrees to a permanent ceasefire and withdraws its troops from the besieged strip — something Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected during months of US-led negotiations.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed more than 42,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials. The US last week told Israel it needed to take “urgent and sustained actions” to improve the dire humanitarian situation in the territory or risk losing military aid from Washington.
Netanyahu’s far-right allies in his ruling coalition have threatened to leave his government if he agrees to what they describe as a “reckless” deal with the Palestinian militant group. Hamas, meanwhile, has to select a new leader to replace Sinwar.
Blinken’s visit comes a day after White House envoy Amos Hochstein held talks in Beirut with Lebanese leaders about diplomatic efforts to end the conflict between Hizbollah and Israel. Hizbollah has said it will not agree to a ceasefire as long as Israeli troops are fighting in Gaza.
Hours after Hochstein’s talks in Lebanon, Israeli forces launched more than a dozen air strikes on Beirut and its suburbs, killing 63 people and injuring 234 according to Lebanese health authorities.
Israel’s military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari alleged on Monday that Hizbollah had stored $500mn in cash and gold under the Sahel hospital in Beirut’s southern suburbs. He said the Israeli air force was “monitoring” the site but added it would “not strike the hospital itself”.
The Israeli military did not provide evidence for the claim, which was denied by hospital officials who invited reporters to inspect its facilities on Tuesday.
Israel’s military said it targeted Hizbollah weapons storage facilities, a naval base and other sites linked to the group in Beirut.
The conflict began after Hizbollah started firing rockets towards Israel following Hamas’s October 7 attack, forcing about 60,000 northern Israelis from their homes. Israel’s offensive has killed more than 2,500 people in Lebanon and forced more than 1.2mn from their homes, mostly in the past month, according to Lebanese authorities.
About 80 Israeli civilians and soldiers have been killed by Hizbollah fire into Israel and during Israel’s land invasion of southern Lebanon.
