Blinken heads to Middle East in long-shot bid for Gaza cease-fire

With Israeli forces pounding targets in northern Gaza and Lebanon despite U.S. objections, Secretary of State Antony Blinken embarked Monday for the Middle East to try to bring about a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas amid signs of Washington’s limited influence over Israeli policy.

The trip — Blinken’s 11th to the region since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel — is almost certainly the final one before the U.S. election, and it was a sign of the Biden administration’s waning power that it received muted attention in Israel as Blinken left Washington. The Hamas-led assault that ignited the fighting killed 1,200 in Israel, its government says, and about 250 were taken hostage. More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to local authorities.