U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Israel for October 11 and 12 to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with senior officials. This plan was communicated by Matthew Miller, head of the State Department’s press office, during a briefing. (Reuters)
Officials say Blinken is expected to depart the United States the day before and land in Israel on Thursday. (Reuters)
In a related track, the U.S. Congress has introduced legislation proposing $2 billion in military aid to Israel to support its Iron Dome air defense system. (Reuters)
The measure has drawn support from more than a dozen lawmakers across party lines in the American Congress. (Reuters)
Earlier, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, warned that the U.S. deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group toward the eastern Mediterranean heightens regional risk. She noted a potential escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the possible involvement of additional parties. (Reuters)
On October 7, Hamas launched thousands of rockets into Israel and announced the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. (Reuters)
Prior to that, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signaled that Israel would respond in a manner he described as unprecedented, with consequences the country intends to remember for decades. (Reuters)