US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday on his fifth visit to the region since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, hoping to press ahead with a potential ceasefire deal and postwar planning while tamping down regional tensions. But on all three fronts he faces major challenges: Hamas and Israel are publicly at odds over key elements of a potential truce. Israel has dismissed US calls for a path to a Palestinian state, and Iran's militant allies in the region have shown little sign of being deterred by US strikes. In Gaza, meanwhile, the AP reports that Hamas has begun to re-emerge in some of the most devastated areas after Israeli forces pulled back, an indication that Israel's central goal of crushing the group remains elusive.
Blinken was expected to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi officials say the kingdom is still interested in normalizing relations with Israel in a potentially landmark deal, but only if there is a credible plan to create a Palestinian state. But any such grand bargain appears a long way off as the war still rages in Gaza, where 113 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours alone, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. It says another 205 people were wounded. The fatalities bring the overall Palestinian death toll from nearly four months of war to 27,478.
A video circulating online Monday showed masked gunmen leading a line of shirtless detainees past bombed-out buildings in northern Gaza, forcing them to shout out that they are thieves. It was the latest sign that Hamas is reasserting control in parts of the north. Residents say Hamas-led security forces, which numbered in the tens of thousands before the war, have begun to reappear in some areas where they focus on distributing civil salaries and cracking down on looters. Meeting with troops on Monday, PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had defeated 18 of Hamas' 24 battalions, without providing evidence. "We are on the way to absolute victory, and I want to tell you that we are committed to it and we will not give it up." (More Antony Blinken stories.)
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