Unlock Editorial Digest for Free
FT editor Roula Khalaf chooses her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Thursday as Washington stepped up efforts to prevent the country’s war with Hamas from escalating into a regional conflict.
Ahead of Blinken’s visit, Israel formed a new coalition government on Wednesday and stepped up its siege of Gaza, raising hundreds of thousands of troops ahead of an expected ground offensive on the enclave.
Israeli forces are still repelling sporadic attempts by Hamas militants to enter Israel from the sea and are preparing for the next phase of the war, military spokesman Richard Hecht said Thursday morning. But he said no “decision” had yet been made on how to deal with the fight.
Israeli warplanes have been bombing targets in Gaza since Saturday as Hamas militants launch their worst-ever attack on its territory, leaving the country reeling. According to Israeli officials, the attack killed at least 1,200 civilians and soldiers, injured more than 3,000 people, and the militants took dozens of hostages.
Palestinian officials said Thursday that Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed 1,203 people and injured 5,763.
Israeli troops also engaged in skirmishes on the country’s northern border with Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militants after they fired mortars into Israel. Tensions are rising in the occupied West Bank, where 28 Palestinians have been killed in the past five days, according to health officials.
Before leaving the United States, Blinken said Washington warned other countries in the region not to “exploit” the situation in Israel.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the conflict with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi by phone on Thursday, the first call between the two leaders in years.
Prince Mohammed, who has previously been involved in U.S. efforts to mediate normalization of ties with Israel, said he was concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and was pushing to ease the crisis. He added that Saudi Arabia opposes the targeting of civilians, according to the Saudi state news agency.
In a show of solidarity with Israel and a warning to Iran, the United States dispatched an aircraft carrier group to the eastern Mediterranean. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he would also send more fighter jets to the region.
Hecht said Israel deployed an extra division to its northern border with Lebanon and that although people were “very nervous” the situation in the north was “under control.”
Blinken will also visit the West Bank, where he will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, senior Palestinian officials said Thursday.
Blinken’s trip follows an agreement between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz to form a coalition government during the war.
After the agreement was reached, Netanyahu promised in a statement that Israel had “turned to the offensive.”
“Every Hamas member is dead,” Netanyahu said.
Israel has cut off supplies of water, electricity, fuel and goods to Gaza, where Israel and Egypt have imposed a severe blockade since Hamas took control in 2007.
Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesman for the health ministry, said health services there had reached a “critical stage” and supplies of medicines would “be about to run out” after Gaza’s only power plant stopped operating on Wednesday.
“The health situation has become unbearable,” he said. “Urgent action must be taken to provide safe passage for the transfer of medical supplies and injured and sick patients before it is too late.”
The United Nations says 340,000 Palestinians are displaced within the 40-kilometer zone, with many seeking refuge in UN-run schools and refugee camps to escape Israeli bombing. The U.N. Palestinian relief agency said on Wednesday that 11 U.N. workers were killed in the airstrike.
The United States is in discussions with Israel and Egypt to establish a humanitarian “safe passage” corridor for civilians in Gaza caught up in the conflict, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.
Svlook
