Blinken pushes Israel to ease fighting, consider postwar vision for Gaza ( www.washingtonpost.com )

Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed top Israeli leaders in back-to-back meetings Tuesday to limit civilian casualties in Gaza, avoid all-out war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and get serious about planning for what comes after the fighting finally ends, said U.S. officials.

Blinken, the top diplomat of Israel’s most vital ally, is presenting a plan for Gaza’s future to Israeli leaders based on his meetings with leaders in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Greece and Turkey before arriving in Israel.

In meetings with Israel’s president, prime minister, defense minister and emergency war cabinet, Blinken is pressing Israel to reduce the scale of civilian casualties in the Gaza war — already one of the century’s most destructive conflicts — where about 23,000 people have been killed to date, according to Gaza health officials.

But the gaps between the Israelis and Arab leaders remain vast as far-right members of the Netanyahu government call for the mass displacement of civilians from Gaza and have dismissed American calls for a “revamped and revitalized” Palestinian Authority to play a role in postwar Gaza.