Blinken to visit Middle East with focus on ceasefire

Shafaq News/ The US Department of State announced on Friday that Secretary Antony Blinken will undertake a new tour to the Middle East next week to advance a proposal for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

This will be Blinken's eighth visit to the region since the conflict began on October 7.

According to the State Department, the tour will include Israel, Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan from June 10 to 12.

"The Secretary will also continue to reiterate the need to prevent the conflict from escalating further."

The tour comes as Washington tries to pressure Israel and Hamas to accept a ceasefire proposal announced by US President Joe Biden last week.

Qatari and Egyptian mediators, supported by the United States, are intensifying their efforts to reach an agreement to halt hostilities, which includes the release of Israeli hostages and several Palestinian detainees. However, sources close to the talks indicated that there are no signs of a breakthrough.

On Friday, the United Nations added Israel to its blacklist of countries that harm children in conflict zones, placing it alongside groups such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram.

The annual list, known in the media as the "list of shame," identifies parties involved in armed conflicts that commit serious violations against children.

Israel's offensive has killed at least 36,731 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, including about 15,000 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Last week, the World Health Organization reported that more than four in five children in Gaza had gone an entire day without eating at least once within 72 hours. The humanitarian crisis has been further underscored by the Hamas government media office, which revealed that at least 32 people, many of them children, have died of malnutrition since the war began.