Blinken visit Netanyahu urged to work for ceasefire after Sinwar killing

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has arrived in Israel to encourage efforts to revive the stalled Gaza ceasefire negotiations after Israel's killing of the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, last week.

- Peter Beaumont

Meeting the Israeli prime minister in Jerusalem yesterday, Blinken urged Benjamin Netanyahu to capitalise on the death of the Hamas leader by securing the release of the 7 October attack hostages and ending the conflict in Gaza.

A US state department spokesperson added that Blinken emphasised the need for Israel to boost humanitarian aid reaching Gaza.

Blinken has made multiple fruitless trips to the region and there is little evidence either Israel or Hamas are open to movement on their preconditions for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel's offensive has claimed more than 42,000 Palestinian lives.

The US president, Joe Biden, asked Blinken to return to press for progress, seeing new hope after Israel's killing of Sinwar.

With war raging in Gaza and also with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the prospect of a widening conflict with Iran, international diplomats have struggled not only with the specific issues involved in trying to bring the individual wars to an end but also how to sequence issues related to the connected conflicts.