Blinken visits Middle East in bid to solidify fragile Israel-Gaza truce

Gaza — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel on Tuesday, beginning a tour of the Middle East aimed at solidifying the fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. At least 253 Palestinians, including almost 70 children, and 14 people in Israel were killed during the 11-day conflict that was halted early on Friday by a tenuous truce agreement.

Blinken, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the region since President Joe Biden took office, told journalists after meeting Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu that Mr. Biden had sent him to reinforce America's commitment to Israel's security, to work for greater peace and stability in the region, and to address the urgent humanitarian needs and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip. An estimated 77,000 Palestinians were displaced by the Israeli airstrikes during the conflict, which also hit Gaza's infrastructure hard, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without fresh running water.