Hamas…Israel Conflict Day 311…Iran’s does NOT want a War…..

• Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said on Friday that he would travel to Israel in the coming days as part of the Biden administration’s diplomatic efforts to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. He will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Monday, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office. The visit, Mr. Blinken’s ninth since the war in Gaza began in October, comes as U.S. diplomats have fanned out across the region in a race to try to seal a cease-fire deal. Earlier this month, Mr. Blinken told reporters that American officials were engaged in diplomacy around the clock to try to reduce tensions after the assassinations last month of key leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, armed groups backed by Iran.

• Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III discussed “regional instability” and the “growing risk of escalation” from Iran and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, on Friday, according to a statementfrom the Pentagon. Mr. Austin told Mr. Gallant that the United States was “well-postured across the region to defend Israel and protect U.S. personnel and facilities.” The two also discussed progress in talks on a cease-fire deal in Gaza. Mr. Gallant’s office called a cease-fire agreement “both a moral imperative and a strategic, security priority,” in a statement from Israel’s defense ministry about the call.

• Israel’s foreign minister called on allies to join in attacking Iran if Tehran conducted a retaliatory strike. “The right way to deter Iran and prevent war is by announcing that if Iran attacks, they will stand with Israel not only in defense but also in striking targets in Iran,” the foreign minister, Israel Katz, said in a statement on Friday after meeting with his counterparts, David Lammy of Britain and Stéphane Séjourné of France.

• The Israeli military called for more evacuations from the “humanitarian zone” it has designated for civilians in southern Gaza, distributing fliers calling for people to leave parts of Khan Younis and Deir al Balah. The military’s announcement on Friday in effect further shrinks a zone that by last month had already been reduced in size by more than a fifth. Israel said the evacuation orders followed rocket fire from those areas and what it described as resumed terrorist activity. The Israeli military has characterized the already overcrowded humanitarian zone as safer than other parts of Gaza, but has made clear that it will go after Hamas anywhere it believes it has a presence….

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Iran is expected to delay planned reprisals against Israel for the assassination of a top Hamas leader in Tehran to allow mediators time to make a high-stakes push for a cease-fire to end the war in Gaza, U.S., Iranian and Israeli officials said on Friday.

Top American, Israeli, Egyptian, and Qatari officials met in Doha, the Qatari capital, for a second day of talks on Friday in an attempt to resolve remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas. As those talks concluded, a joint statement from the United States, Egypt and Qatar said a “bridging proposal” had been presented to both parties. Senior officials from those three governments are expected to reconvene in Cairo before the end of next week.

It was not immediately clear if this timeline would change Iran’s assessments.

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