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Live: Blinken to meet Lebanese PM in London, says US official
MIDDLE EAST
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati in London on Friday to discuss the ongoing war between Israel and Lebanon. Follow our live blog for the latest developments on the war in the Middle East.
Issued on: 25/10/2024 – 05:38
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint press conference with Qatar’s Foreign Minister in Doha on October 24, 2024.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint press conference with Qatar’s Foreign Minister in Doha on October 24, 2024. © Nathan Howard, AFP
SUMMARY
Blinken and Lebanese PM to meet in London on Friday, says US official
Russia gave Houthis satellite data to target Red Sea ships, report finds
2 hours ago
3 journalists killed in Israeli air strike, Lebanese state media says
Lebanese state media said Friday three journalists were killed in an Israeli air strike overnight in eastern Lebanon near the border with Syria.
“Our correspondent in Zahle reported the death of three journalists in an Israeli raid on Hasbaya,” Lebanon’s National News Agency reported, adding that “Israeli warplanes raided at 3:30 am (0030 GMT) on the Lebanese-Syrian border.”
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2 hours ago
Russia gave Houthis satellite data to target Red Sea ships, report finds
Russia earlier this year provided satellite data to help Yemen’s Huthi rebels strike ships in the Red Sea, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
The US daily — citing “a person familiar with the matter” and two anonymous European defense officials — reported that the data was transmitted by Iranian intermediaries and used to target ships with missiles and drones.
The Huthis, who control vast swaths of Yemen, started targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The attacks have led to a dramatic drop in traffic through the key shipping lane.
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4 hours ago
Blinken and Lebanese PM to meet in London on Friday, says US official
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet in London on Friday with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati as Washington appeals to Israel to keep its military campaign against Hezbollah short, a US official said.
The top US diplomat arrived late Thursday in London after a three-nation tour of the Middle East, where he also pleaded to protect Lebanese civilians but stopped short of urging an immediate ceasefire by Israel.
Blinken will also meet Friday separately with the foreign ministers of Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, two key US partners in a post-war plan for Gaza, the State Department official said.
Blinken, at a news conference earlier Thursday in Qatar, said that Israel was working to remove the “threat” of Hezbollah but there must ultimately be a diplomatic solution.
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4 hours ago
Welcome to our live blog, where we post the latest news on the war in the Middle East. To read all about yesterday’s key developments, click here.
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Yesterday’s key developments:
Israeli spy chief David Barnea will head to Doha on Sunday for talks aimed at restarting negotiations towards a Gaza hostage release deal, the Israeli prime minister’s office said Thursday.
The United States and Qatar announced a resumption of negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said mediators were exploring new options after months of failing to seal a US-led plan.
Palestinian medics said an Israeli strike on a school where displaced people were sheltering in the central Gaza Strip killed at least 17 people on Thursday, nearly all women and children.
A Paris conference on aid for conflict-stricken Lebanon raised around $1 billion in pledges for humanitarian aid and support for the country’s armed forces, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, and Reuters)
