Washington/Beirut: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken embarked on a trip to the Middle East on Monday, aiming to initiate another effort for a ceasefire amidst ongoing violence, seeking to revive negotiations to end the Gaza war and mitigate the escalating conflict in Lebanon. This visit marks Blinken’s 11th since the outbreak of the Gaza war, which began following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The backdrop to Blinken’s visit includes intensified Israeli military operations against Iran-backed militants, both Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon. On Monday, Israeli forces conducted multiple strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, including one near the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, resulting in four fatalities, including a child, and leaving 24 others injured, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
The Israeli military asserted that it targeted a “Hezbollah terrorist target” near the hospital, claiming the facility itself was not struck and that the group “systematically embeds its terrorist assets into the civilian population.” In recent weeks, Israel has eliminated key figures within Hezbollah and Hamas while showing no signs of halting its ground and aerial offensives. The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week was hailed as a significant victory for Israel, which maintains that military operations must continue until Hamas is rendered incapable of posing a threat.
During his visit, Blinken plans to engage with leaders in Israel and neighboring Arab states to discuss the urgency of ending the Gaza war, exploring a post-conflict strategy for the Palestinian enclave, and seeking a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, as outlined by the State Department.
In conjunction with Blinken’s efforts, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein held discussions with Lebanese officials in Beirut regarding the conditions necessary for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Hochstein emphasized that merely adhering to U.N. resolution 1701, which ended the previous conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, would be insufficient. He pointed out that neither party has adequately implemented the resolution and that the U.S. aims to ensure it is executed “fairly, accurately, and transparently.”
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As the conflict continues, Israel has launched a ground campaign following a year of border clashes initiated by Hezbollah rocket fire in support of Hamas. Local residents express their fears and frustrations. Micheline Jabbour, who works in a pastry shop in Beirut, stated, “Strike, strike, strike with planes and drones, and we don’t know who they are targeting and who will die each day.”
The Israeli military claims to have targeted the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, a financial entity with numerous outlets in Lebanon that the U.S. alleges is used by Hezbollah for financial management. As tensions heighten, the Al-Sahel Hospital in Beirut’s southern suburbs is being evacuated, with Israeli claims suggesting that a Hezbollah cash bunker is located beneath it. Hospital director Fadi Alameh has called these accusations false and has urged the Lebanese Army to verify the hospital’s operations.
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In a separate incident, two people were killed and three others injured in Damascus due to what Syrian state television reported as an Israeli missile strike on a vehicle, which Israel’s military stated targeted the head of Hezbollah’s money transfers unit.
The ongoing conflict has had devastating consequences. Lebanon’s health ministry reports that the death toll since the onset of Israel’s offensive has risen to 2,483, with 11,628 injuries. In contrast, Israeli authorities report 59 fatalities in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights during the same period. Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have displaced approximately 1.2 million people, with the objective of removing Hezbollah fighters from the border area to facilitate the return of tens of thousands of Israelis who have been forced to evacuate due to previous Hezbollah cross-border attacks.
