Blinken meets with Netanyahu in Israel and urges Hamas to accept ceasefire proposal

Update This handout photo released by the US State Department on June 10, 2024, shows US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. (AFP/US State Department)
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This handout photo released by the US State Department on June 10, 2024, shows US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. (AFP/US State Department)
Update US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to reporters after his meeting with the Egyptian president, at Cairo airport, on June 10, 2024. Blinken arrived in Egypt at the start of a regional tour to push for a much awaited Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to reporters after his meeting with the Egyptian president, at Cairo airport, on June 10, 2024. Blinken arrived in Egypt at the start of a regional tour to push for a much awaited Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Update Blinken meets with Netanyahu in Israel and urges Hamas to accept ceasefire proposal
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Above, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at Cairo airport in Egypt on June 10, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 10 June 2024
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Blinken meets with Netanyahu in Israel and urges Hamas to accept ceasefire proposal

Blinken meets with Netanyahu in Israel and urges Hamas to accept ceasefire proposal
  • Israel and Hamas both doubled down on hard-line positions that have scuppered all previous attempts to end the fighting
  • Washington is now seeking a vote backing the ceasefire proposal at the UN Security Council

TEL AVIV: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his latest trip to the Middle East, where America’s top diplomat urged approval of a ceasefire proposal that faced new uncertainty following Israel’s hostage rescue operation that killed many Palestinians and turmoil in Netanyahu’s government.
With no firm public response yet from Hamas or Israel to the proposal they received 10 days ago, Blinken started his eighth visit to the region since the conflict began in October by meeting with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt, a key mediator with the militant Hamas group. He then flew to Israel for talks with Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.
Blinken once again called on Hamas to accept the plan, which he said has wide international support.
“If you want a ceasefire, press Hamas to say ‘yes,’” he told reporters before leaving Cairo on the trip that also will take him to Jordan and Qatar. Blinken said Israel has accepted the proposal, though Netanyahu has expressed skepticism.
“I know that there are those who are pessimistic about the prospects,” Blinken said, putting the onus on Hamas. “That’s understandable. Hamas continues to show extraordinary cynicism in its actions, a disinterest not only in the well-being and security of Israelis but also Palestinians.”
While President Joe Biden, Blinken and other US officials have praised the rescue of four Israeli hostages on Saturday, the operation resulted in the deaths of 274 Palestinian civilians and may complicate the ceasefire push by emboldening Israel and hardening Hamas’ resolve to carry on fighting in the war that started with its Oct. 7 attack in Israel.
Blinken said the plan is the “single best way” to get to a ceasefire, release the remaining hostages and improve regional security.
In his talks with El-Sisi, Blinken also discussed plans for post-conflict governance and reconstruction in Gaza.
“It’s imperative that there be a plan, and that has to involve security, it has to involve governance, it has to involve reconstruction,” Blinken said.
Netanyahu and his government have resisted calls for any “day after” plan that would bar Israel from having some form of security presence in the territory. Blinken said he would urge Israel to come up with alternatives that would be acceptable.
“It would be very good if Israel put forward its own ideas on this, and I’ll be talking to the government about that,” he said. “But one way or another, we’ve got to have these plans, we’ve got to have them in place, we’ve got to be ready to go if we want to take advantage of a ceasefire.”
The three-phase plan calls for the release of more hostages and a temporary pause in hostilities that will last as long as it takes to negotiate the second phase, which aims to bring the release of all hostages, a “full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza” and “a permanent end to hostilities,” according to an American-drafted resolution put before the UN Security Council. The third phase calls for reconstruction in Gaza.
The Security Council voted Monday to approve the resolution, which welcomes the proposal and urges Hamas to accept it. The vote on the US-sponsored resolution was 14-0, with Russia abstaining.
But Hamas may not be the only obstacle.
Although the deal has been described as an Israeli initiative and thousands of Israelis have demonstrated to support it, Netanyahu has expressed skepticism, saying what has been presented publicly is not accurate and that Israel is still committed to destroying Hamas.
Netanyahu’s far-right allies have threatened to collapse his government if he implements the plan. Benny Gantz, a popular centrist, resigned on Sunday from the three-member War Cabinet after saying he would do so if the prime minister did not formulate a new plan for postwar Gaza.
In the aftermath of the hostage rescue, Netanyahu had urged him not to step down.
Blinken has met with Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Gantz and Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on nearly all his previous trips to Israel. Officials said Blinken is expected to meet with Gantz on Tuesday.
Despite Blinken’s roughly once-a-month visits to the region since the war began, the conflict has ground on with more than 37,120 Palestinians killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its counts. Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attack, mostly civilians, and took around 250 people hostage.
The war has severely hindered the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to the Palestinians in Gaza, who are facing widespread hunger. UN agencies say more than 1 million people in the territory could experience the highest level of starvation by mid-July.
In Jordan, Blinken will take part in an emergency international conference on improving the flow of aid to Gaza.


Thousands displaced in Lebanon as Israel expands evacuation zones

Thousands displaced in Lebanon as Israel expands evacuation zones
Updated 3 sec ago
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Thousands displaced in Lebanon as Israel expands evacuation zones

Thousands displaced in Lebanon as Israel expands evacuation zones
  • Short-term outlook ‘remains bleak,’ warns Mikati
  • Israeli attacks intensified in south Lebanon and the Bekaa region

BEIRUT: Israel expanded its evacuation warnings to new areas of Lebanon on Thursday as Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned that the short-term outlook for his country “remains bleak.”

His comments came as US envoys Amos Hochstein and Brett McGurk met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

Israeli orders for Lebanese civilians to evacuate large areas of Tyre and Baalbek were condemned by Mikati as an “additional war crime,” adding to the “series of crimes of killing, destruction and sabotage committed by the Israeli army.”

In response to Israel’s expansion of its air campaign, Mikati “requested increased pressure on Israel” from international and diplomatic bodies.

Hochstein reportedly told Mikati on Wednesday that he would urge Israel to end its campaign in return for a Lebanese commitment to implementing Resolution 1701.

As Lebanon awaited a diplomatic response, Israel’s Channel 12 said that the Israeli army is preparing to expand its ground operations in Lebanon “as negotiations might take time.”

Israeli attacks intensified in south Lebanon and the Bekaa region, with evacuation warnings extending to the Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp in Tyre and civil defense centers in Baalbek.

The Israeli army warned residents of several southern towns, including the Rashidieh camp, to evacuate north of the Awali River.

The order sparked panic among the camp’s 323,000 residents, triggering mass displacement of people who had few options for shelter.

A similar event took place in the Baalbek region a day earlier as tens of thousands of Lebanese fled their homes following warnings of imminent Israeli bombardment.

This warning was repeated on Thursday, preventing the return of residents.

Many spent the night in their cars in harsh cold weather as nearby town shelters reached capacity from earlier evacuees.

Some residents sought shelter in the historic Baalbek Castle, assuming the site had international protection status, but Baalbek Gov. Bashir Khodr advised against this, warning that the castle fell within the “red zone” designated by Israel as a potential target.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee, in a new warning posted on X to people in Baalbek, Ain Bourday and Douris, said that residents of the three areas “are staying in a combat zone in which the Israeli army intends to attack.”

Israeli strikes later hit border areas in northern Bekaa and across the Syrian border, a common route for illegal crossings.

An airstrike in Bodai destroyed a home and killed its four inhabitants.

About 10,000 airstrikes have hit Baalbek in the last two days, killing about 70 people and injuring more than 500 others.

Israeli raids targeted an Amal Movement ambulance in Zefta and a civil defense center affiliated with Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization on the highway between Dardagia and Arzoun in southern Lebanon.

The strike killed a paramedic and injured two others, bringing the death toll of health workers in Lebanon to 174, with 279 wounded.

Israeli drone attacks against cars and motorcycles in southern Lebanon and western Bekaa continued on Thursday.

A car on the Araya-Kahala road was struck, killing two and injuring one.

On Wednesday, an Israeli drone struck a car on the same road, killing its driver, who was transporting anti-tank missiles.

A drone also struck a car on the Al-Amariyeh-Naqoura road, killing its driver, a Lebanese Army soldier.

A motorcycle rider was killed in the town of Qaraoun located in the West Bekaa region.

Meanwhile, Israel’s air campaign escalated across south Lebanon, targeting residential homes and neighborhoods. A missile struck a man’s home in Ebel El Saqi, injuring his eight-year-old granddaughter.

The town of Chihine was hit with Israeli white phosphorous artillery shells, while the Israeli army blew up four houses in Alma Al-Shaab, a town adjacent to the Blue Line.

A residential building in Aita Al-Shaab was also struck from the air.

On Wednesday evening, the Israeli army destroyed the only mosque in the border town of Boustane, along with several houses in the border town of Al-Dahira.

A new video showing extensive destruction in the southern border town of Kfar Kila was shared. All of the town’s buildings and houses had been leveled.

In a statement, Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director, warned: “At least one child is killed and 10 injured daily in Lebanon.

“Thousands more children who have survived the many months of constant bombings are now acutely distressed by the violence and chaos around them.”

Clashes on the ground between the Israeli army and Hezbollah continued on Thursday across the border region.

Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV reported that “violent clashes” took place east of Khiam, with militants repelling an Israeli incursion into the area.

Clashes near the border town have continued for three days following an Israeli assault.

UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said that the international force had been targeted more than 50 times since the beginning of the conflict.

Seven of these attacks were “carried out deliberately by Israel,” he added.

Israel claimed it had killed Mohammed Khalil Alian, the commander of the anti-tank force affiliated with Hezbollah’s Nasr unit, in Burj Qallawiyah.

On Wednesday, Israel’s air force claimed the elimination of a Hezbollah air defense cell that had launched a missile at an Israeli aircraft in the region north of Tyre.


Houthis abduct another Yemeni employee of US Embassy in Sanaa

Houthis abduct another Yemeni employee of US Embassy in Sanaa
Updated 31 October 2024
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Houthis abduct another Yemeni employee of US Embassy in Sanaa

Houthis abduct another Yemeni employee of US Embassy in Sanaa
  • Armed Houthis, including Zaynabiyat policewomen, stormed the house of Mohammed Abdullah Shammakh
  • Shammakh was in a nearby market purchasing items for his family when the raid occurred

AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Houthi militia has abducted a Yemeni employee of the US Embassy in Sanaa, becoming the latest known victim of the Houthis’ crackdown on aid and civil society workers in Yemeni areas under their control.

A group of armed Houthis, including Zaynabiyat policewomen, have stormed the house of Mohammed Abdullah Shammakh, an administrative officer at the US Embassy in Sanaa, and abducted him after searching it, according to his friend and Yemeni journalist Sami Ghaleb.

Ghaleb, who spoke with residents of Sanaa’s Al-Ziraah neighborhood, where the abducted man lived, told Arab News on Thursday that the Houthis raided the three-story building on Oct. 10 and instructed its occupants, including children and women, to go to the roofs.

They then confined them, before storming Shammakh’s apartment and conducting a search.

Shammakh was in a nearby market purchasing items for his family when the raid occurred and was taken aback when he observed the Houthis occupying his residence, his friend said.

When he returned home, the Houthis abducted him, leaving behind a chaotic house and a terrified family, according to Ghaled.

“He’s more like a family member than a friend. He is a great person, like his father, lovable and helpful, and he assists his neighbors,” said Ghaled, who published an article on his news site, www.alndaa.net, in which he urged the Houthis to release him and other abducted individuals.

“You are responsible for these heinous violations, and no one in the historic capital is willing to listen to your ridiculous argument. These are simply helpless employees,” Ghaled wrote on his website on Wednesday.

The US Embassy in Yemen, which is now based in Riyadh, responded to Arab News’ request for comment on the abduction of its employee in Sanaa by saying: “We are aware of that report but cannot confirm if it is true at this time.”

The US Embassy in Yemen has been closed since early 2015, and the diplomatic mission has been relocated to Riyadh, months after the Houthis seized power.

In 2021, the Houthis raided the US Embassy compound in Sanaa, abducting Yemeni employees from the building and also abducting other former and current embassy employees from their Sanaa homes.

According to lawyers in Sanaa, the Houthis recently referred six abducted US Embassy employees to court and intend to try them on espionage charges.

Over the past four months, the Houthis have abducted more than 70 Yemeni workers from UN agencies, international human rights and aid organizations, and foreign diplomatic missions, accusing them of spying for US and Israeli intelligence agencies.

Relatives of some of those abducted have told Arab News that the Houthis have denied their requests to visit them in detention, call them, or provide information about their conditions.

On Wednesday, the office of the UN Yemen envoy, Hans Grundberg, said that he discussed efforts to release the UN workers abducted by the Houthis with Nada Al-Nashif, the UN deputy high commissioner for human rights, and reiterated his appeal to the Houthis to release them.

“The UN remains steadfast in demanding their immediate and unconditional release,” Grundberg’s office said.


Middle East conflicts to leave ‘lasting scars’: IMF

Middle East conflicts to leave ‘lasting scars’: IMF
Updated 31 October 2024
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Middle East conflicts to leave ‘lasting scars’: IMF

Middle East conflicts to leave ‘lasting scars’: IMF
  • IMF lowers its predicted growth for the Middle East and Central Asia to 2.1 percent for 2024
  • IMF forecasts for Lebanon, where conflict with Israel has sharply escalated this month, have been suspended

DUBAI: Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan will take decades to recover from the conflicts raging on their soil, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday after downgrading the region’s growth forecast.
Israel’s military actions against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Sudan’s civil war would have enduring impacts, the IMF said.
“The damage caused by these conflicts will leave lasting scars at their epicenters for decades,” the global lender said in a statement.
The IMF has lowered its predicted growth for the Middle East and Central Asia to 2.1 percent for 2024, a drop of 0.6 percent due to the wars and lower oil production.
Depending on the conflicts, growth should rise to 4.0 percent next year, according to the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook which was compiled in September.
“This year has been challenging with conflicts causing devastating human suffering and lasting economic damage,” Jihad Azour, the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department director, told reporters in Dubai.
“The recent escalation in Lebanon has greatly increased the uncertainty in the whole MENA region.”
IMF forecasts for Lebanon, where conflict with Israel has sharply escalated this month, have been suspended. But “conservative” estimates show a 9.0-10 percent contraction this year, Azour said.
“The impact (on Lebanon) will be severe and it will depend how long this conflict will last,” said the former Lebanese finance minister.
Saudi-led oil cuts through the OPEC+ group, aimed at propping up prices, “are contributing to sluggish near-term growth in many economies,” the IMF said.
For the region’s oil exporters, “medium-term growth is projected to moderate, as economic diversification reforms will take time to yield results,” it added.
Downside risks continue to dominate, the lender said, including fluctuating commodity prices, conflicts and climate shocks.


Syria state media report Israel strikes on town near Lebanon border

Syria state media report Israel strikes on town near Lebanon border
Updated 31 October 2024
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Syria state media report Israel strikes on town near Lebanon border

Syria state media report Israel strikes on town near Lebanon border

DAMASCUS: Syrian state media said Israeli strikes hit the town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border on Thursday, the latest in a series of raids in the area.
“An Israeli aggression targeted the Qusayr area in the southern Homs countryside,” causing “material damage to the industrial city and some residential neighborhoods,” the official SANA news agency said.


Doctors Without Borders surgeon detained by Israel in north Gaza hospital raid

Doctors Without Borders surgeon detained by Israel in north Gaza hospital raid
Updated 31 October 2024
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Doctors Without Borders surgeon detained by Israel in north Gaza hospital raid

Doctors Without Borders surgeon detained by Israel in north Gaza hospital raid
  • Mohammed Obeid, an MSF orthopaedic surgeon working at Kamal Adwan hospital in north Gaza, was detained during an Israeli military raid on the site on Oct. 26, MSF said

GENEVA: Medical charity Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Thursday that one of its doctors working in a north Gaza hospital has been detained by Israeli forces.
Mohammed Obeid, an MSF orthopaedic surgeon working at Kamal Adwan hospital in north Gaza, was detained during an Israeli military raid on the site on Oct. 26, MSF said.
“We are extremely alarmed by the detention of our colleague,” it said.
“We call for the safety and the protection of our colleague, and for all medical staff in Gaza who work under impossible conditions and are facing horrific violence as they try to provide care.”