The News
The US pressed Israel to move towards ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon, to little avail.
During his latest visit to the Middle East, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “capitalize” on the killing of Hamas’ leader last week, but Netanyahu made no mention of a truce and his defense minister insisted Israeli aerial bombardment of Lebanon would persist even after its ground operations in the country concluded.
Instead, Israel’s attention appeared to be shifting towards a reportedly imminent attack against Iran: “Netanyahu is identifying an opportunity,” Haaretz’s military analyst wrote. “Why can’t he take one more step and finally deal with Iran, especially the threat posed by its nuclear program?”