(Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel this weekend following a fresh round of talks to halt the Israel-Hamas war, as officials keep working to deter a threatened attack by Iran.
The top US diplomat will meet with Israeli officials in his ninth visit to the region since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking hundreds hostage. Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip has since killed some 40,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
“Secretary Blinken will underscore the critical need for all parties in the region to avoid escalation or any other actions that could undermine the ability to finalize an agreement,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said in a statement.
International mediators are set to resume cease-fire negotiations in Cairo, Egypt’s capital, by the end of next week following two days of talks in Qatar. President Joe Biden said Friday that “we are closer than we’ve ever been” to an agreement.
The big question mark now is Hamas, which didn’t send a representative to the latest talks. A spokesman for the group — which is designated a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union — accused Israel of adding new conditions to undermine negotiations.
In the meantime, allied officials are working to dissuade Iran from going ahead with an attack against Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. Israel has declined to say whether it was responsible for Haniyeh’s slaying.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani spoke Thursday with Iranian acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, “stressing the need for calm and de-escalation in the region,” the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement.
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