Top US diplomat Antony Blinken will make a surprise visit to Bahrain on Wednesday, the latest in a tour of Middle East crises, State Department officials announced.
After meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, Blinken will fly to Bahrain to meet with King Hamad to prevent a regional escalation of the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza.
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Top US diplomat Antony Blinken will make a surprise visit to Bahrain on Wednesday, the latest in a tour of Middle East crises, State Department officials announced.
After meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, Blinken will fly to Bahrain to meet with King Hamad to prevent a regional escalation of the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza.
The Gulf kingdom is an important partner of Washington and is home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.
Bahrain last month joined a 10-nation naval task force announced by the United States to protect the vital Red Sea route from missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
The Houthis say they are targeting “Israel-linked” vessels in solidarity with Gaza, prompting many shipping companies to reroute ships, with ripple effects on the global economy.
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Blinken is on his fourth tour of the Middle East since Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on October 7 sparked the war.
The top US diplomat said on Tuesday that the war had taken a “far too high” toll on civilians in the Gaza Strip, especially children, and called for more food and medical aid to be delivered to the region.
Israel’s relentless attacks have left 23,200 people dead in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled region’s health ministry.
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This follows Hamas attacks that have left around 1,140 people dead, mostly civilians, in Israel, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli statistics.
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