The purpose of the head of the State Department’s trip to the Middle East has been announced: Netanyahu angered Washington

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Middle Eastern countries to use their influence with regional players to ensure the conflict in Gaza is contained and prevent an “endless cycle of violence” as he continued his week-long trip aimed at easing tensions.

According to The Guardian, Blinken spoke on Saturday after the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah said it had fired missiles at Israel, which said it had struck a “terrorist cell” in retaliation. Hezbollah called the strikes a “preliminary response” to the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Beirut last week in an attack widely attributed to Israel.

“We want to make sure that countries… [используют] our relationships with some of the actors that may be involved to keep the situation under control to make sure we don’t see the conflict spreading,” Blinken said before flying to Jordan after meeting with the leaders of Turkey and Greece.

His comments came after the French foreign minister told her Iranian counterpart that “Iran and its affiliates” must stop “destabilizing actions” that could trigger a wider conflict in the Middle East.

Blinken, who will also visit Arab states, Israel and the occupied West Bank, said he would look at what could be done to best protect civilians in Gaza and increase humanitarian aid supplies.

“Too many Palestinians have been killed, especially children,” he said.

The war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages. As a result of Israel’s retaliatory offensive, 22,700 Palestinians were killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, The Guardian recalls.

The Israeli army said on Saturday it had “completed the dismantling” of Hamas’ command structure in the northern Gaza Strip.

Army spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters that Palestinian militants were currently operating in the area only sporadically and “without commanders.”

“The focus now is on eliminating Hamas in the center of the Gaza Strip and in the south of the Gaza Strip,” he said, acknowledging that the task will take time.

Fighting raged Saturday in and around the southern city of Khan Yunis, where Israeli troops said Hamas members were killed. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported heavy shelling of Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis. Shrapnel flew into the medical facility amid the sound of drone fire, reports on social media.

An Israeli airstrike in the West Bank city of Jenin early Sunday killed six people, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported a major Israeli troop deployment in Jenin.

Some Israeli troops recently withdrew from Gaza, partly in response to US pressure. Referring to Israel’s efforts to eliminate Hamas in central and southern Gaza, Hagari said, “we will do it differently,” without elaborating.

During his current trip, Blinken is expected to press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to protect civilians in Gaza, allow more aid into the territory and rein in outspoken far-right ministers who have called for mass relocation of Palestinians – rhetoric that which the US condemned as inflammatory and irresponsible.

According to The Guardian, Netanyahu has angered Washington by so far refusing to engage in any detailed planning for managing Gaza once Israel’s military offensive ends and rejecting preferred US options. In recent days, senior Israeli officials have rushed to offer several post-war proposals.

Washington wants regional countries, including Turkey, to play a role in rebuilding, governing and potentially providing security in Gaza, which has been ruled by Hamas since 2007, the official said.

On Saturday, Blinken said Turkey is committed to playing a “positive, productive” role in post-war Gaza and is ready to use its influence in the region to prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from expanding further.

The Secretary of State’s comments, notes The Guardian, came after his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an outspoken critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

During the talks, which lasted more than an hour, Blinken outlined the need to “work toward a broader, lasting regional peace that ensures Israeli security and advances the creation of a Palestinian state,” US officials said.

A Turkish diplomatic source said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, during a separate meeting, asked Blinken for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, which could ensure the smooth delivery of aid.

Erdogan has emerged as one of the harshest critics of Washington’s support for the Israeli campaign in Gaza. He compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler and accused the US of sponsoring the “genocide” of the Palestinians.

The Turkish leader also rebuffed US pressure to cut off the alleged flow of Hamas funding through Turkey and defended the Palestinian group as legitimately elected “liberators” fighting for their land.