WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading again to the Middle East, making his 11th trip to the region since the war in Gaza erupted last year and as Israel steps up attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The State Department said Blinken would depart Monday for a weeklong trip to Israel and a number of Arab countries on a visit that also comes as Israel weighs retaliation against Iran for a ballistic missile attack earlier this month. His other stops are likely to include Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, officials say.
The trip had been expected after President Joe Biden said last week he would dispatch Blinken to the region following Israel’s killing of Hamas military chief Yahya Sinwar, a move that some believe could open a window for new talks on a cease-fire proposal that has been languishing for months.
In Israel on Tuesday, Blinken will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, according to Israeli officials.
“Secretary Blinken will discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
In the region, Blinken will discuss planning for when the conflict ends and “the need to chart a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives,” Miller added.
He said Blinken also would underscore the need for a dramatic increase in the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, something that Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made clear in a letter to Israeli officials last week. That letter reminded Israel that the Biden administration could be forced by U.S. law to curtail some forms of military aid should the delivery of humanitarian assistance continue to be hindered.
In addition to the conflict in Gaza, Blinken will also raise the importance the administration places on reaching a diplomatic resolution to the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and elsewhere.
“He will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to work with partners across the region to de-escalate tensions and provide lasting stability,” Miller said in the statement.
Since the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the Israeli response, Blinken has traveled to the Middle East 10 other times seeking an end to the crisis. His previous trips have yielded little in the way of ending hostilities, but he has managed to increase aid deliveries to Gaza in the past.
Since just last month, the situation has grown increasingly tense, sparking renewed fears of a wider regional war, particularly since Israel began ground operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah and killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah in a massive airstrike in the Beirut suburbs.
Iran has responded to Israeli attacks against its proxies with ballistic missile launches, the latest of which Israel has yet to retaliate for. Biden administration officials have cautioned Israel about its planned retaliation and believe they have won assurances from Israeli leaders that they will not hit nuclear or oil facilities.
However, Netanyahu has said repeatedly that while Israel will listen to American advice, his country will act in its own national interest. And previous U.S. warnings about escalation have gone unheeded.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden was “deeply concerned" about the unauthorized release of classified documents on Israel’s preparation for a potential retaliatory attack on Iran, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday. U.S. officials said an investigation is underway.
AP reporter Aamer Madhani contributed from Washington.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken attends a reception for U.S. President Joe Biden in Bellevue Palace, Berlin, Friday Oct. 18, 2024. (Annette Riedl/dpa via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are pulling back from their all-time highs Monday as some of the steam comes out of Wall Street’s long, record-breaking rally.
The S&P 500 was 0.4% lower in afternoon trading, coming off its sixth straight winning week, its longest such streak of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 329 points, or 0.8%, from its own record that was likewise set on Friday, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% lower, as of 12:46 p.m. Eastern time.
Trading was mixed in markets around the world. Crude oil prices rose to regain some of last week’s sharp losses, while U.S. Treasury yields climbed and stock indexes mostly fell in Europe after finishing mixed in Asia.
The rise in yields helped knock down stocks that tend to get hurt by higher interest rates, such as big dividend payers and businesses in the housing industry. Real-estate owners fell to the sharpest loss among the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500 index, while homebuilders Lennar and D.R. Horton both fell at least 3%.
The declines mean at least a pause in Wall Street's rally to records, which was built in large part on optimism that the U.S. economy can make a perfect escape from the worst inflation in generations, one that ends without a painful recession that many investors worried could be inevitable. With the Federal Reserve now cutting interest rates to keep the economy humming, the expectation among optimists is that stocks can rise even further.
But critics are warning that stock prices look too expensive given how much faster they’ve climbed than corporate profits.
That puts pressure on companies to deliver growth in profits to justify their stock prices, and more than 100 companies in the S&P 500 are on deck to give details this week about their performances during the summer. That includes such heavyweights as AT&T, Coca-Cola, IBM, General Motors and Tesla.
Tesla fell 1.2% ahead of its report. Its stock has been shaky recently, including a tumble after an update on its highly anticipated robotaxi included fewer details than investors were hoping for.
Boeing is reporting its latest results on Wednesday. It rose 3.1% after reaching an agreement with the union representing its striking machinists on a contract proposal. The union’s members could vote Wednesday on the deal, which could end a costly walkout that has crippled production of airplanes for more than a month.
Spirit Airlines soared 58.5% after the carrier was able to extend a credit-card processing agreement. Coming into the day, the airline’s stock had lost 91% in the year so far following the cancellation of its planned merger with JetBlue.
Trump Media & Technology Group rose 4.5% to top $30, continuing its strong run since it briefly dipped below $12 last month. The company behind former President Donald Trump's Truth Social platform is still losing money, but its stock often moves more with his perceived chances of reelection than anything else.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.18% from 4.08% late Friday.
This upcoming week doesn’t include many top-tier economic reports to move Treasury yields. A preliminary update will arrive on Thursday about U.S. business activity. The Bank of Canada will also announce its latest decision on interest rates Wednesday, where it could cut by half a percentage point.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in China after its central bank cut a couple lending rates. Lower rates can help reduce pressure on borrowers, particularly the property developers that have suffered following a crackdown on excessive borrowing several years ago. But any impact on market sentiment appeared to be short-lived.
Stocks rose 0.2% in Shanghai but fell 1.6% in Hong Kong. Chinese stocks have been zooming higher and lower in recent weeks. A slowdown for the world's second-largest economy has raised expectations for big stimulus from the Chinese government and central bank, though doubts are still prevalent about how much effect they will have.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
FILE - People pass the New York Stock Exchange, at rear, in New York's Financial District on Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - A man approaches an entrance to the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader reads documents near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
