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October 23, 2024 | 08:37 pm
TEMPO.CO, Tyre, Lebanon - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed on Wednesday, Oct. 23, for a halt to fighting between Israel and militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, but heavy Israeli air strikes on a large historic Lebanese port city demonstrated that there was no respite.
Israel began to bomb the UNESCO-listed port of Tyre in south Lebanon roughly three hours after issuing an order online for residents to flee central areas. Huge clouds of thick smoke billowed above residential buildings.
Tens of thousands of people had already fled Tyre in recent weeks as Israel steps up its campaign to destroy Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, both close allies of its arch Middle East enemy Iran.
The port is typically a bustling hub for the south - with fishermen, tourists and even U.N. peacekeepers on a break from deployments near the border spending time there by the sea. But Israel's evacuation orders this week have for the first time encompassed swathes of Tyre, right up to its ancient castle.
Some Lebanese fear their country will end up like the Gaza Strip, where Israeli airstrikes and shelling have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and levelled much of the small, densely populated enclave.
In Gaza, where Israel has intensified an assault on the northern edge of the territory since killing the leader of Hamas last week, health authorities reported at least 20 people killed in fresh Israeli strikes, most in the north.
Aside from mass destruction, Gazans face severe shortages of food, water, fuel, medicine and proper medical care.
A failure to address the humanitarian situation there could create more insurgents in Gaza, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, echoing concerns Israel's offensive could create new, more radical militants after 17 years of Hamas rule there.
Blinken, who has travelled to the Middle East regularly since the outbreak of the war, is making his first trip since Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, its most-wanted enemy, a death Washington hopes can provide an impetus for peace.
The secretary of state's trip is the last major U.S. peace push before the Nov. 5 presidential election pitting Vice President Kamala Harris against former President Donald Trump, which could scramble U.S. policy in the region.
Washington is also seeking to head off a further widening of the conflict in anticipation of Israeli retaliation for an Iranian Oct. 1 missile attack, launched by Tehran in solidarity with Hezbollah and Hamas. Blinken said on Wednesday that Israel's retaliation should not lead to greater escalation.
After meeting Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken traveled to regional power and close U.S. ally Saudi Arabia for talks with Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
They discussed the urgent need to end the Gaza war and release all hostages of Hamas, as well as ways of establishing security, governance and reconstruction after the conflict, said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
Blinken also met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi ruler, state media said, without elaborating.
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