Blinken calls on ‘all parties’ in Middle East to ‘stop escalatory actions’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged “all parties” in the Middle East to stop “escalatory actions” and achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, after Hamas’s political leader was killed in a strike that Iran blamed on Israel.

Achieving peace “starts with a ceasefire, and to get there, it also first requires all parties to talk (and) to stop taking any escalatory actions”, Blinken told reporters in Mongolia. (BSS/AFP)