Blinken lands in Israel for tense Gaza talks with Netanyahu

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Israel for what are expected to be fractious talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the war in Gaza as public differences over the conflict have intensified.

It's the final stop in Blinken's sixth urgent diplomatic mission to the Middle East, in which he's expected to hold meetings with Netanyahu and his war cabinet aimed at convincing them not to proceed with plans for a large-scale military offensive in the southern city of Rafah that many fear could make an already disastrous humanitarian crisis in Gaza even worse.

“A major military operation in Rafah would be a mistake, something we don’t support,” Blinken said Thursday in Cairo, where he met with top diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. “And, it’s also not necessary to deal with Hamas, which is necessary.”

Instead, Blinken will present Netanyahu with alternatives for dealing with Hamas in Rafah in discussions that will continue next week when Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and a separate delegation of senior Israeli officials visit Washington. Netanyahu agreed to send the delegation in a Monday phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden — their first conversation in a month amid the widening divisions.

Blinken’s brief visit to Israel, which was announced only Wednesday and was not part of his original Mideast itinerary, comes as top intelligence officials from the U.S., Israel, Egypt and Qatar were to meet in Doha to hammer out details of a proposed cease-fire-for-hostages deal. Qatar, and to a lesser extent Egypt, are the main interlocutors with Hamas, which has thus far rebuffed offers the negotiations have produced.