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Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, second from left, leaves the State Department in Washington on Monday after meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Middle East conflict live updates Israel’s Gallant in U.S.; Netanyahu axes planned delegation over U.N. resolution

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Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is set to meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington on Tuesday, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s abrupt cancellation of a visit by another high-level delegation to the United States. The move came after the United States abstained from voting on a cease-fire resolution before the U.N. Security Council, allowing it to pass.

Key updates
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The second Israeli delegation to Washington, whose visit President Biden requested, had been set to hear U.S. concerns about Israel’s plans for an operation in Rafah, in southern Gaza, where over a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
Gallant met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday. Blinken, in his meeting with Gallant, “reiterated the United States’ support for ensuring the defeat of Hamas, including in Rafah, while reiterating opposition to a major ground operation in Rafah,” according to the State Department.
Israel and Hamas blamed each other Tuesday for the apparent lack of progress in cease-fire talks in Qatar. Netanyahu’s office called the militant group’s demands “delusional,” and Hamas blamed Israel “for thwarting all negotiation efforts.” But the Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed Al Ansari, said the talks are “ongoing” and “we remain very hopeful.”
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the U.S. abstention in the U.N. Security Council vote did not signal a “change in policy” from the Biden administration. “There is no reason for this to be seen as some sort of escalation,” he said.
At least 32,333 people have been killed and 74,694 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 252 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.
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The second Israeli delegation to Washington, whose visit President Biden requested, had been set to hear U.S. concerns about Israel’s plans for an operation in Rafah, in southern Gaza, where over a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
Gallant met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday. Blinken, in his meeting with Gallant, “reiterated the United States’ support for ensuring the defeat of Hamas, including in Rafah, while reiterating opposition to a major ground operation in Rafah,” according to the State Department.
Israel and Hamas blamed each other Tuesday for the apparent lack of progress in cease-fire talks in Qatar. Netanyahu’s office called the militant group’s demands “delusional,” and Hamas blamed Israel “for thwarting all negotiation efforts.” But the Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed Al Ansari, said the talks are “ongoing” and “we remain very hopeful.”
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the U.S. abstention in the U.N. Security Council vote did not signal a “change in policy” from the Biden administration. “There is no reason for this to be seen as some sort of escalation,” he said.
At least 32,333 people have been killed and 74,694 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 252 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.
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Israel-Gaza war

Israel-Gaza war: Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to make a quick stop in Israel as tensions are rising between the United States and Israel over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to invade Rafah. The Israeli military said Wednesday that it was continuing its raid on al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where people said they were trapped in dire conditions.

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.