Blinken seeks to avert wider Middle East war

 
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Jan 8 before heading on to Israel after warning that the Gaza war could spread across the region without concerted peace efforts.

Mr Blinken started a five-day Middle East diplomatic effort in Jordan and Qatar on Jan 7. He is seeking to avert a wider war in the region. Mr Blinken is also due to visit the West Bank and Egypt this week.

"This is a moment of profound tension for the region. This is a conflict that could easily metastasise, causing even more insecurity and suffering," he told a press conference in Doha before heading to Abu Dhabi.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the intensity of the offensive in Gaza signalled his country's determination to destroy militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza. He said it was also aimed at deterring other potential adversaries, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"My basic view: We are fighting an axis, not a single enemy," Mr Gallant told the Wall Street Journal. "Iran is building up military power around Israel in order to use it."

Israel and Hezbollah often trade fire across the Lebanese border. Meanwhile, Houthi rebels in Yemen say they will continue to target all ships heading to Israel until it stops bombarding Palestinians in Gaza. The Gaza war was triggered by an attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct 7. Israeli officials say some 1,200 people were killed and 240 others taken hostage.

Israel's offensive since then has killed at least 22,800 Palestinians in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said on Jan 7, after 111 dead and 250 wounded were added to the tally over the past 24 hours.

The violence has displaced most of Gaza's 2.3 million people, left many homes and civilian infrastructure in ruins, and caused acute shortages of food, water and medicines.

Mr Blinken said he would tell Israeli officials that it was imperative they do more to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza and that Palestinian civilians must be allowed to return home and not be pressed to leave Gaza. Jordan's King Abdullah urged Mr Blinken to use Washington's influence over Israel to press it for an immediate ceasefire and warned of the "catastrophic repercussions" of Israel's continued military campaign.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue fighting.

"The war must not be stopped until we achieve all the goals: the elimination of Hamas, the return of all our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," Mr Netanyahu said at the start of a weekly Cabinet meeting on Jan 7. "I say this to both our enemies and our friends."

Despite global concern over the death and destruction in Gaza and widespread calls for a ceasefire, Israeli public opinion remains firmly behind the operation aimed at wiping out Hamas, although support for Mr Netanyahu has fallen sharply.

Palestinians report 50 killed:

Over the weekend, residents reported intense gun battles in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, as well as in central districts of the densely populated enclave.

Israeli strikes on houses in Khan Younis killed 50 people, health officials in the hospital there said on Jan 7.
An Israeli air strike on a car near Rafah in southern Gaza on Jan 7 killed two Palestinian journalists, according to health officials in Gaza and the journalists' union there.

Central Gaza has been the focus of a heavier Israeli ground and air offensive in the past two weeks, with residents reporting tank shelling as explosions lit the skies overnight on Jan 7.

In a post on social media platform X, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri lamented that Arab and Islamic countries had yet to back South Africa's call for genocide proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

"?We hope that there will be a remedy. Otherwise, this official silence will constitute a mandate for the occupation to eradicate what remains of Gaza," he said.

Israel denies targeting civilians and says Hamas militants deliberately embed themselves among civilian populations. Hamas denies this.

Violence in West Bank:

As part of his trip, Mr Blinken aims to press hesitant Muslim nations in the Middle East to prepare to play a role in the reconstruction, governance and security of Gaza if and when Israel manages to eliminate Hamas, a US State Department official said earlier.

Outside Gaza, there was more violence in the occupied West Bank, where hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers and settlers over the past weeks.

Israel's military said Israeli aircraft fired on Palestinian militants who had attacked troops in the city of Jenin, and Palestinian health officials said seven Palestinians died in the strike.

An Israeli border police officer was killed and others wounded when their vehicle was hit by an explosive device during operations in Jenin, Israeli officials said.Israeli emergency services also said Israeli police killed a young Palestinian girl in a car at a West Bank crossing when they opened fire on another car suspected of a ramming attack.

>>Agency