Blinken Takes Off in 11th Attempt to Reach a Middle East Cease-Fire

Visit may be last chance for a pause before the US election
Envoy Hochstein warns Lebanon may ‘escalate out of control’

Antony Blinken boards his plane at Joint Base Andrews on Oct. 21.Photographer: Nathan Howard/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

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By Dan Williams and Dana Khraiche

October 21, 2024 at 6:43 PM UTC

Updated on

October 22, 2024 at 5:09 AM UTC

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken took off Monday for his 11th visit to the Middle East in his so-far unsuccessful effort to engineer a cease-fire between Israel and Iran-backed militants since the attack on Israel more than a year ago.

With Blinken planning stops in Israel and other countries in the region, according to the State Department, it may be the last chance for the Biden administration to secure a pause in Israel’s multi-front conflict with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon before the US presidential election on Nov. 5.