Live: Blinken heads to Middle East for Gaza ceasefire push as Israel strikes Beirut

This post was originally published on France24

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken left for the Middle East Monday on a new push for an elusive Gaza ceasefire two weeks before US elections, seeing a new opportunity from Israel’s killing of Hamas’s leader. It will be the 11th trip to the Middle East by the top US diplomat since war broke out a year ago. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates on the Middle East crisis.