Blinken returns to Mideast in push for hostage deal and postwar plan for Gaza, but obstacles loom

RIYADH – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday on his 5th seek advice from to the area because the outbreak of the war in Gaza, hoping to press forward with a possible cease-fire deal and postwar making plans whilst tamping down regional tensions.

But on all 3 fronts he faces primary demanding situations: Hamas and Israel are publicly at odds over key components of a possible truce. Israel has pushed aside U.S. calls for a trail to a Palestinian state, and Iran’s militant allies in the area have shown little sign of being deterred by U.S. strikes.

In Gaza, in the meantime, Hamas has begun to re-emerge in one of the vital maximum devastated spaces after Israeli forces pulled again, a sign that Israel’s central objective of crushing the gang stays elusive. Video pictures from the similar spaces displays huge destruction, with just about each construction broken or destroyed.

Blinken used to be anticipated to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi officers say the dominion continues to be in normalizing relations with Israel in a doubtlessly landmark deal, but provided that there’s a credible plan to create a Palestinian state.

But this kind of grand discount seems a ways off because the struggle nonetheless rages in Gaza, the place 113 our bodies have been introduced to hospitals in the closing 24 hours on my own, in accordance to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. It says every other 205 other folks have been wounded.

The fatalities deliver the total Palestinian demise toll from just about 4 months of struggle to 27,478. The ministry does no longer distinguish between civilians and opponents in its rely but says lots of the useless have been ladies and youngsters.

The struggle in Gaza has leveled vast swaths of the tiny enclave, displaced 85% of its inhabitants and pushed a quarter of residents to starvation.

A video circulating on-line Monday confirmed masked gunmen main a line of shirtless detainees previous bombed-out constructions in northern Gaza, forcing them to shout out that they’re thieves. The Associated Press used to be no longer ready to independently verify the incident, but it’s consistent with AP reporting.

It used to be the newest signal that Hamas, which has governed Gaza since seizing energy from rival Palestinian forces in 2007, is reasserting keep watch over in portions of the north. Residents say Hamas-led safety forces, which numbered in the tens of 1000’s sooner than the struggle, have begun to reappear in some spaces the place they center of attention on distributing civil salaries and cracking down on looters.

The Israeli army says it has introduced focused operations in northern Gaza during the last week to save you Hamas from rebuilding its features.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to proceed the struggle till Israel crushes Hamas’ army and governing talents and wins the go back of the 100-plus hostages nonetheless held by way of the militant staff after the Oct. 7 cross-border raid that ignited the war.

Hamas and different militants killed some 1,200 other folks, most commonly civilians, in the assault and kidnapped round 250. More than 100 captives, most commonly ladies and youngsters, have been launched all over a weeklong cease-fire in November in change for the discharge of 240 Palestinians imprisoned by way of Israel.

Meeting with troops on Monday, Netanyahu stated Israel had defeated 18 of Hamas’ 24 battalions, with out offering proof. “We are on the way to absolute victory, and I want to tell you that we are committed to it and we will not give it up.”

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have drawn up an offer for a cease-fire of a number of weeks and the phased unlock of the rest of the hostages.

But Hamas, which has but to publicly reply to the proposal, has stated it would possibly not unlock any longer captives till Israel ends its offensive. The militants are anticipated to call for the discharge of 1000’s of Palestinian prisoners in go back — calls for Netanyahu has publicly governed out.

The struggle has ignited tensions around the area, with a flurry of strikes and counterstrikes elevating the danger of a much wider struggle.

Israel and Lebanon’s robust Hezbollah militant staff industry hearth around the border every day, and in fresh weeks obvious Israeli moves have killed senior Hezbollah commanders.

A drone assault introduced by way of Iran-backed militants killed 3 U.S. infantrymen close to the Jordan-Syria border closing week, prompting a wave of retaliatory U.S. moves. The United States and Britain have additionally performed moves at the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen in reaction to their assaults on global delivery in the Red Sea.

___

Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press journalist Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem contributed.

___

Follow AP’s protection of the Israel-Hamas struggle at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war