Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said there was a need for a security and political change in Lebanon that would allow displaced Israelis to return safely to their homes.
Netanyahu met with Blinken for 2-1/2 hours on Tuesday and the meeting was friendly and productive, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
Netanyahu also said Israel was working hard to bring back hostages still held in Gaza and that the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “may have a positive effect on the return of the hostages, the achievement of all the goals of the war, and the day after the war”.
Blinken pressed Netanyahu on Tuesday to capitalisze on the killing of Hamas’ leader by securing the release of the Oct. 7 attack hostages and ending the war in Gaza.
After repeated abortive attempts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Blinken was making his 11th trip to the Middle East since the Gaza war erupted – and the last before a presidential election that could upend U.S. policy.
Reuters
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