Blinken begins tour of the Middle East this Thursday amid fears of regional conflict

The Secretary of State of USA., Anthony Blinkenwill begin this Thursday a tour of middle East which comes amid fears that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas intensifies, causing a regional conflict.

This will be his fourth visit to the region and fifth to Israel, excluding one made in October with US President Joe Biden, since Hamas carried out its attack on October 7, which was followed by an intense Israeli offensive in the Strip. from Gaza.

Blinken plans to leave Washington this Thursday night and his trip will include two stops in Europe, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters at a press conference.

In total, over the next week he will go to Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.

“We don’t expect every conversation on this trip to be easy. Obviously, the region faces difficult questions and decisions, but the secretary believes it is the responsibility of the United States to lead diplomatic efforts to address those challenges,” Miller said.

Blinken will emphasize that it is “imperative (…) to expand and maintain safe access for humanitarian organizations to deliver food, water and medicine, as well as for commercial goods to reach all areas of Gaza.”

In his meetings with Israeli officials he will discuss the Executive’s efforts to ensure that October 7 does not happen again, including transition plans to the next phase of operations and steps that can be taken to better protect civilians and see “how to allow Palestinians to return to their homes and neighborhoods as the fighting subsides.”

The release of the hostages still in the hands of Hamas will be another item on its agenda, as well as the way in which the different actors in the region can use their influence to avoid an escalation of the conflict.

“It is not in anyone’s interest, neither Israel, nor the region nor the world that it extends beyond Gaza”said the spokesperson.

The trip takes place just after two significant events in the region: on Wednesday, 84 people lost their lives in a terrorist attack in the city of Kerman, Iran, where thousands of people were participating in the ceremony commemorating the 2020 assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, ordered by former US President Donald Trump.

Added to this event is that on Tuesday, a drone killed the number two in the political office of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, Saleh al Arouri, in an attack attributed to Israel, although this country does not usually confirm or deny this type of accusation. Actions.

Arouri’s murder in Beirut has raised fears that the situation between Israel and Lebanon will escalate into open war.

Hamas has promised to respond and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah also stated yesterday in a televised speech that his formation “will fight without limits” if Israel declares war on Lebanon.

For now the situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border remains at a level of confrontation relatively similar to that of recent weeks with Hezbollah engaged in intense crossfire with Israeli forces from its side of the border, something that began after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.

The Hamas attack, which started the war, left 1,200 dead on the Israeli side. The military offensive with which Israel responded has claimed more than 22,438 deaths in Gaza, of which the 70% They are women and children, according to the Strip’s Health Ministry.