US secretary of state begins visit in Jordan as fears grow Israel could expand Gaza conflict to LebanonMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has returned to the Middle East for the fourth time in three months amid increasingly frantic international efforts to prevent Israel’s war against Hamas from spreading throughout the region.Recent intensifying violence between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, increasing attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, and strikes by Tehran-linked groups on US bases in Iraq, have created an increasingly febrile atmosphere across the Middle East. Continue reading…
Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/07/blinken-middle-east-efforts-stop-spread-war-israel-gaza-lebanon
Author : Peter Beaumont in Beirut, and Emma Graham-Harrison and Jason Burke in Jerusalem
Publish date : 2024-01-07 22:32:11
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Blinken returns to Middle East amid frantic efforts to stop spread of war
