Blinken wraps up frantic Mideast tour with tepid, if any, support for pauses

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a grueling Middle East diplomatic tour on Monday in Turkey after only limited success in efforts to forge a regional consensus on how best to ease civilian suffering in Gaza as Israel intensifies its war against Hamas.
In the Turkish capital of Ankara, he met with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan following a frantic weekend of travel that took him from Israel to Jordan, the occupied West Bank, Cyprus and Iraq to build support for the Biden administration’s proposal for “humanitarian pauses” to Israel’s relentless military campaign in Gaza.
“All of this is a work in progress,” Blinken said before leaving Turkey. “We don’t obviously agree on on everything, but there are common views on some of the imperatives of the moment that we’re working on together.”
Blinken’s shuttle diplomacy came as Israeli troops surrounded Gaza City and cut off the northern part of the besieged Hamas-ruled territory.
Troops are expected to enter the city within this week, and are likely to face militants fighting street by street using a vast network of tunnels.