Blinken was also seeking ways to defuse the conflict in Lebanon, where overnight at least 18 people were killed, including four children, and 60 injured by an Israeli airstrike near Beirut's main state hospital. Blinken faced an uphill struggle on both fronts.

Israeli military says strikes in Beirut earlier this month killed Hashem Safieddine.   08:49 Israeli media reports that earlier one woman was “lightly wounded” by shrapnel after a rocket was fired at Herzliya,