Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday afternoon, according to U.S. and Israeli readouts.
Over the course of two-and-a-half hours, the two officials had a “friendly and productive” conversation, before holding an “expanded” meeting with their respective staff members, per Netanyahu’s office.
“The issue of the Iranian threat was raised, including the need for both countries to unite against it,” per the Israeli readout. “The prime minister thanked the American secretary of state for the support of the U.S. in the fight against Iran’s axis of evil and terrorism.”
Netanyahu discussed actions by the Israeli Defense Forces in Lebanon and the “need to effect a security and diplomatic change in the north that will enable Israel to return its residents safely to their homes,” according to the prime minister’s office. It added that Blinken expressed Washington’s “deep shock over the Iranian attempt, via Hezbollah, to eliminate the prime minister of Israel, and made it clear that this was an exceptionally extreme incident.”
The Israeli premier thanked Blinken, emphasizing that “this is a dramatically significant issue that must not be ignored.”
He also, per the Israeli readout, updated Blinken about Israeli progress fighting Hamas in Gaza “and the supreme efforts that Israel is making to bring all of the hostages back home.”
“The two sides discussed the issue of the governing framework in Gaza on the day after the war,” Netanyahu’s office stated. “The prime minister emphasized that the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is likely to have a positive influence on the return of the hostages, the achieving of all the objectives of the war and the day after the war.”
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stated that Blinken “underscored the need to capitalize on Israel’s successful action to bring Yahya Sinwar to justice by securing the release of all hostages and ending the conflict in Gaza in a way that provides lasting security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
The U.S. secretary also “discussed the importance of charting a new path forward in the post-conflict period that allows Palestinians to rebuild their lives and provides governance, security and reconstruction for Gaza,” Miller stated. “The secretary emphasized the need for Israel to take additional steps to increase and sustain the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and ensure that assistance reaches civilians throughout Gaza.”
Per the U.S. readout, Blinken and Netanyahu also talked about “ongoing efforts” in Lebanon to “reach a diplomatic resolution along the Blue Line that includes full implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 and allows civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes.”
“They discussed the need to deter further regional aggression from Iran and its proxies, including ongoing efforts by the United States and its partners,” Miller said. “The secretary reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”
Shalom Lipner, a nonresident senior fellow for the Middle East programs at the Atlantic Council, wrote that there was “scant resemblance” between the U.S. and Israeli readouts of Netanyahu’s and Blinken’s meeting.
The Israeli hostage families organization, We Are All Hostages, said that it protested outside Blinken’s hotel “to make sure he knows we need the U.S. to use its leverage and urge Netanyahu to secure a hostage release-ceasefire deal.”
