Blinken meets with Qatari officials in push to resolve conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon

As part of a tour of the region in which Blinken has focused discussions on ending the conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Blinken is also meeting Thursday with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Al Thani ahead of talks with Arab officials Friday in London.

While one of Blinken’s agenda items has been to seek an increase in humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza, France hosted an international conference Thursday in Paris to raise funds to help those affected by the war between Israel and Hamas in Lebanon.

France announced a pledge of $108 million, while Germany said it is contributing $103 million for aid in Lebanon.

“In the immediate term, massive aid is needed for the Lebanese population, both for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the war and for the communities hosting them,” Macron told the conference.

Israel’s military said Thursday it conducted a new round of airstrikes against Hezbollah weapons production sites in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Lebanon’s military said three of its soldiers were killed in an Israeli strike while they were conducting a rescue operation near the village of Yater in southern Lebanon.

Israel has said its fight is with Iran-backed Hezbollah, not Lebanon, in a conflict that has raised fears of wider regional hostilities.

Medics in Gaza said an Israeli strike hit a school that was being used as a shelter in Nuseirat, killing at least 16 people..

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