Blinken to Visit Gaza Border, First Senior US Official Since Hamas Attack

April 30, 2024

by: Itamar Eichner ~ Ynet

Tuesday, 30 April 2024 | US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Kibbutz Be’eri and the Kerem Shalom crossing during his visit to the Gaza border region this week, becoming the first senior US government official to visit the area since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, Ynet learned on Sunday.

At Blinken’s request, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Foreign Minister Israel Katz will accompany him on the tour.

The Secretary of State will arrive in Israel as part of a Middle East tour, including a visit to Saudi Arabia. Blinken had planned to visit Kerem Shalom during an earlier trip to Israel but canceled due to planned protests against him.

During the October 7 attack, over 100 terrorists infiltrated Kibbutz Be’eri. More than 100 kibbutz [collective community] members were killed, and dozens of soldiers and police officers fell in battles on its grounds.

In addition, 32 kibbutz members were abducted to the Gaza Strip. Some of them were released in the first deal with Hamas in November. A month after the massacre, the kibbutz announced that its members would temporarily relocate to Kibbutz Hatzerim.

Posted on April 30, 2024

Source: (This article was originally published by Ynetnews on April 28, 2024. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: US Embassy Jerusalem/Wikimedia.org

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