Israeli President Isaac Herzog and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed ahead of their meeting in Tel Aviv that there is a “unique opportunity” in Gaza after Israeli forces killed Hamas terror leader Yahya Sinwar.
“We know that there is a unique opportunity that, following the killing of Sinwar and the other circumstances that have evolved, there is a unique opportunity to make a special effort to employ all tools necessary and possible to move forward and bring the hostages back home,” Herzog said, according to transcripts that both the U.S. State Department and the Israeli president’s office released.
“I believe very much that the death of Sinwar does create an important opportunity to bring the hostages home, to bring the war to an end and to ensure Israel’s security,” Blinken said, “and that’s exactly what our conversations today focused on with our Israeli colleagues, including arrangements for the period following the end of the conflict.”
“It’s a conversation that I’ll pursue in the region with other partners,” the U.S. secretary added.
Herzog noted in his public remarks that whatever opportunities lie in the Gaza Strip, “as for the northern front, we are in a different situation.”
“There, we’ve been constantly attacked for a year already, and definitely in the last few weeks, constantly attacked from Lebanon,” Herzog said. “That is why we have to take all the steps possible to eradicate the capabilities of Hezbollah, to move forward in preventing the onslaught against the citizens of Israel and the cities and towns.”
“Their attacks with drones, missiles, rockets—their attack on the private home of the prime minister—it’s all part of a major campaign which, at the end of it all, is led and commanded in Tehran,” the Israeli president added. “That is why, of course, a major answer has to be made towards Tehran.”
According to Matthew Miller, the U.S. State Department spokesman, Blinken’s and Herzog’s private meeting addressed “ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.”
Blinken “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” Miller stated, and the two leaders “discussed efforts to promote a diplomatic resolution along the Blue Line that will allow civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes.”
“The secretary noted the imperative to restore sustained humanitarian aid to Gaza and reiterated the importance of ending the war in a way that secures the release of hostages and creates the conditions for broader regional stability,” Miller added.