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Blinken to Visit Israel on Mideast Tour Aimed at Preventing Regional War
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gestures upon his arrival at Cairo airport, Egypt, June 10, 2024. Photo: Amr Nabil/Pool via REUTERS
JNS.org — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will depart on Tuesday for a Middle East tour aimed at securing a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas while at the same time preventing a wider war in the region, according to Axios reporter Barak Ravid.
The top American diplomat will reportedly visit Israel, Egypt, and Qatar.
Ravid noted that the trip could still be postponed if Iran chooses to attack the Jewish state directly ahead of Blinken’s anticipated departure.
On Monday, Blinken spoke to his Turkish counterpart “about the importance of Hamas’ return to negotiations on Aug. 15 to finalize the framework for achieving an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, securing the release of all hostages, and ending the war,” according to a State Department readout of their call.
Hours earlier, Hamas announced a boycott of the final round of negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement set for this Thursday.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Hamas terror master Yahya Sinwar is demanding a full halt to Israeli military operations in Gaza as a precondition for participating in the negotiations.
Israel immediately accepted last week’s invitation by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar to attend the meeting, which is to take place in either Cairo or Doha. Despite Hamas’ decision not to send representatives to the talks, the mediators are still planning on holding them, Kan News reported.
Meanwhile, US Special Coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk was set to arrive in Cairo on Tuesday to work on additional components of the prospective hostages-for-ceasefire deal, according to Ravid.
McGurk will try to reach understandings with senior Egyptian and Israeli officials on security arrangements for the critical Philadelphi Corridor and the reopening of the Rafah Crossing, both of which straddle the border between the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza.
Last week, Blinken said that “the negotiations have now reached a final stage,” even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated that Hamas had not responded to Jerusalem’s latest proposal.
John Kirby, the White House national security communications adviser, also told reporters that ceasefire negotiations were “as close as we’ve ever been” to achieving a breakthrough.
“The gaps are narrow enough that they can be closed,” he said.
Asked whether a deal is being impeded by Hamas or by Netanyahu, Kirby said that both sides must compromise.
“The deal hasn’t been accepted, because neither side has signed up to it,” Kirby said. “We believe that both sides need to do the final bit of work here, to come to a conclusion on this thing.”
Washington is engaged in “intense diplomacy” to prevent an Iranian retaliatory strike on Israel after the killing of Hamas terror chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Kirby said.
“We don’t want to see an escalation,” he said. “If there is one, my goodness, we’re going to be ready to defend Israel and defend ourselves as appropriate.”
A revised Israeli intelligence assessment suggests that Iran is slated to launch an assault on the Jewish state “within days” in a joint attack with its Lebanese Hezbollah proxy, Axios reported on Wednesday night.
The report, which cited two sources with knowledge of the issue, said that Israeli intelligence indicates Tehran’s attack could be launched before the ceasefire talks scheduled for Thursday.
The attacks are anticipated to be larger and more complicated than Tehran’s April strike on the Jewish state and include the launching of missiles and drones at targets in Israel’s densely populated center.
Three senior Iranian officials told Reuters on Tuesday that only a Gaza ceasefire deal coming out of Thursday’s talks can prevent an Iranian attack on Israel.
One of the sources, a senior Iranian security official, said that Iran and its regional terror proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, would launch a direct attack if the Gaza talks fail or if Jerusalem is perceived to be dragging out the negotiations.
Iran has been conducting an “intense dialogue” with the United States and other Western countries on “ways to calibrate retaliation,” said the sources according to the report.
The post Blinken to Visit Israel on Mideast Tour Aimed at Preventing Regional War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.