Blinken Returns to Middle East as Tensions Grow With Israel

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is returning to the Middle East this week with the goals of getting Israel to curtail attacks that are killing thousands of Palestinian civilians and preventing the war from spreading across the region.

But previously unreported details of a clash between Mr. Blinken and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel point to the challenges ahead.

During a private meeting in November, Mr. Blinken told Mr. Netanyahu that the Israelis would have to agree to a series of pauses in the fighting in Gaza to let more aid flow into the war zone and to allow civilians to leave areas under attack.

Mr. Netanyahu refused, U.S. officials said on the condition of anonymity to describe the private conversation in Jerusalem. Mr. Blinken then said he would announce the Biden administration’s demand in a news conference, which prompted Mr. Netanyahu to scramble to pre-empt him by issuing a defiant statement by video. “I told him, ‘We swore and I swore to eliminate Hamas,’” Mr. Netanyahu said. “Nothing will stop us.”