Secretary of state on fifth Middle East trip since Oct. 7

Antony Blinken on Tuesday met with Egyptian and Qatari leaders to advocate for a cease-fire and a hostage release deal between the Israeli government and Hamas. Egypt and Qatar were key in mediating an earlier cease-fire and hostage exchange back in November, more than one month after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel. He is scheduled to return from the trip on Thursday, the State Department said. Blinken met with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman in Riyadh on Monday to discuss increasing urgent humanitarian aid in Gaza.

What does the situation look like in Gaza? Israel on Tuesday was still planning to attack the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. More than one million people are sheltering in Rafah, according to numerous media reports. Some residents in the city arrived there after fleeing Khan Younis and the fighting there.

What else is the United States doing in the region? Pentagon Spokesman Major General Pat Ryder on Monday promised that the United States would be conducting more attacks against Iranian proxy forces in Iraq and Syria in the coming days. He detailed U.S. forces’ recent attacks—which he said destroyed more than 80 targets across seven facilities used by militant groups. He echoed U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s statement that the recent strikes were “the start of our response.”

Dig deeper: Read Marc LiVecche’s column in WORLD Opinions about our response to Iran.