Blinken meets with Netanyahu to discuss the Iranian threat “and the need to join forces against it”

The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken began his eleventh visit to the region in Jerusalem since the Hamas attack 382 days ago with a portfolio that has since been filled with challenges: resuming truce negotiations in the Gaza Strip after the death of the leader of the fundamentalist group Yahia Sinwar , improve the humanitarian situation in the north of the Palestinian enclave, stop the intense spiral of attacks between Israel and Hezbollah with an agreement based on resolution 1701 of 2006 but reinforced so that it can be applied in the south of Lebanon, prevent the announced retaliation of Israel’s attack by Iran exactly three weeks ago becomes an unpredictable direct duel, etc.

“On the way to Israel and other stops in the Middle East for intense conversations about the importance of ending the war in Gaza, returning the hostages to their families and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people,” Blinken wrote before what may be perhaps last tour before the US elections. “At the meeting, they discussed the Iranian threat and the need for the two countries to join forces against it,” reads the statement from the office of the Israeli head of government, Benjamin Netanyahu, after two and a half hours of meeting. Blinken, for his part, asked him to take advantage the opportunity created by the death of Sinwar to reach an agreement that ends the war in Gaza and guarantees the return of the hostages while reiterating the need to increase humanitarian aid to the devastated coastal enclave.

Parallel to Blinken’s visit, Israel made two announcements of a different nature. On the one hand, he reported that he “can confirm” the death of Hashem Safieddine, head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council and candidate to take over from the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah (killed a month ago in an Israeli attack). It occurred in a bombing approximately three weeks ago in Dahiya (Beirut) in which – according to the army – the commander of the Intelligence Headquarters, Ali Hussein Hazima, was also killed.

On the other hand, he revealed that the drone launched from Lebanon last Saturday (along with two others intercepted) hit Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea and not a nearby building in this northern town as reported. The image released shows that the unmanned aerial device did not manage to penetrate the armored glass of the bedroom of his house (he was not there at the time) but in any case it can be considered a success for Hezbollah who this Tuesday claimed responsibility for the attack for the first time.

“The US Secretary of State expressed the deep shock of the US over the Iranian attempt through Hezbollah to eliminate the Prime Minister of Israel and clarified that this is an extreme and extraordinary event,” said Netanyahu’s cabinet in the face of an attack “by dramatic importance.” In this context, Israeli security agencies announced in the last month the arrest of 18 Israelis in five different cases on suspicion of receiving money from Iran in exchange for spying on and attempting to assassinate former senior officials a mayor or a scientist in Israel.

Two hours before Blinken landed at the central Ben Gurion airport, Hezbollah launched five projectiles against central Israel. While the Israeli army reported the neutralization of four and the fall of one in an open area, the pro-Iran militia announced that they fired missiles at two military bases near Tel Aviv and a naval base in the northern city of Haifa.

The information of at least 20 killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon and Gaza Stripone death and numerous sirens in Israel due to Hezbollah projectiles and drones and the desperate requests of the families of kidnapped people still in Hamas captivity reminded Blinken in Jerusalem on Tuesday of the urgency for solutions.

While waiting for the Israeli retaliation against Iran and its possible effects in the region, in the medium term, within the enormous complexity, the cessation of the escalation in Lebanon seems more viable than in Gaza where Hamas, with its leadership beheaded and the armed wing almost Destroyed, he does not change his demands to free the 101 kidnapped people while he defines the new decision-making body to replace Sinwar. The symbolic and practical achievement that the death of the main person responsible for 7-O meant for Israel awakened hopes in the Biden Administration about the end of the offensive within the framework of a truce agreement since they also saw it as the main obstacle.

“Arab negotiators offered Sinwar an escape in exchange for allowing Egypt to negotiate the release of the hostages on behalf of Hamas, but he refused,” the newspaper said. The Wall Street Journal noting that Sinwar called on the Hamas leadership abroad to reject any concessions in the negotiation in the hope of the participation of Iran and Hezbollah in a regional war against Israel.

Netanyahu, who was accused by Hamas and several hostage families of torpedoing truce attempts in recent months, would be willing to “big concessions” to achieve the release of the hostages, some local media reported. On the other hand, two of his government partners, the ultranationalists Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar ben Gvir, continue to oppose the cessation of the massive offensive and new ideas such as the one proposed by Egypt: an initial 12-day ceasefire in exchange for several hostages. alive while creating the conditions for a broader agreement.

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