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A demonstrator uses a megaphone during a protest calling for the release of hostages on Monday in Tel Aviv. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

Blinken meets with Israel’s Gantz, as cease-fire negotiations continue

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With talks underway this week in Cairo pursuing a deal for a temporary cease-fire, Hamas said it has presented its stance and “the ball is now in the enemy’s court,” referring to Israel. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Washington with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet and a political rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Blinken also met with Qatar’s prime minister Tuesday to discuss negotiations.

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Gantz also met with Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Tuesday. Austin requested the minister’s support in increasing humanitarian assistance into the enclave, according to a Pentagon readout.
On Monday, Gantz met with Vice President Harris, who reiterated U.S. support for Israel but “expressed her deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the recent horrific tragedy around an aid convoy in northern Gaza,” according to a White House readout.
U.N. experts said in a report that they have “reasonable grounds to believe” some victims of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel were raped and sexually assaulted, and that some of the hostages taken into Gaza have been subjected to sexual violence and torture that “may be ongoing.” Hamas rejected the report’s findings.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), accused Israel of “a deliberate and concerted campaign” aimed at undermining the agency’s operations. Israel has alleged that about a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attack and that many are also members of Hamas.
Turkish authorities detained seven people suspected of selling information to Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, including a former Turkish official, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported Tuesday.
Visits by the World Health Organization to two hospitals in northern Gaza over the weekend revealed a severe lack of food and aid that had resulted in the deaths of 10 children, the agency said, though local health officials have reported a greater toll.
At least 30,631 people have been killed and 72,043 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and says 246 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.
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Gantz also met with Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Tuesday. Austin requested the minister’s support in increasing humanitarian assistance into the enclave, according to a Pentagon readout.
On Monday, Gantz met with Vice President Harris, who reiterated U.S. support for Israel but “expressed her deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the recent horrific tragedy around an aid convoy in northern Gaza,” according to a White House readout.
U.N. experts said in a report that they have “reasonable grounds to believe” some victims of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel were raped and sexually assaulted, and that some of the hostages taken into Gaza have been subjected to sexual violence and torture that “may be ongoing.” Hamas rejected the report’s findings.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), accused Israel of “a deliberate and concerted campaign” aimed at undermining the agency’s operations. Israel has alleged that about a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attack and that many are also members of Hamas.
Turkish authorities detained seven people suspected of selling information to Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, including a former Turkish official, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported Tuesday.
Visits by the World Health Organization to two hospitals in northern Gaza over the weekend revealed a severe lack of food and aid that had resulted in the deaths of 10 children, the agency said, though local health officials have reported a greater toll.
At least 30,631 people have been killed and 72,043 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and says 246 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.
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Israel-Gaza war

Israel-Gaza war: Gaza health officials said more than 100 people were killed after a crowd converged on an aid convoy in Gaza City on Thursday. Palestinian officials and eyewitnesses blamed the casualties on Israeli gunfire; Israeli officials blamed a stampede near the aid convoy. President Biden said Friday that the United States would launch an airdrop campaign to deliver aid to Gaza.

Middle East conflict: Tensions in the region continue to rise. As Israeli troops aim to take control of the Gaza-Egypt border crossing, officials in Cairo warn that the move would undermine the 1979 peace treaty. Meanwhile, there’s a diplomatic scramble to avert full-scale war between Israel and Lebanon.

U.S. involvement: U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria killed dozens of Iranian-linked militants, according to Iraqi officials. The strikes were the first round of retaliatory action by the Biden administration for an attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members.