Blinken meets with Turkey's Erdogan as Israeli-Hezbollah fighting escalates

Jan. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken kicked off a Middle Eastern diplomatic push Saturday, meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Israel's war with Hamas threatened to expand into a regional conflict.

Blinken met with Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at Istanbul's Vahdettin Mansion, Turkish officials said, and has further stops scheduled in Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank, and Egypt through Thursday.

In his meeting with Fidan, Blinken "discussed the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Sweden's NATO accession process, bilateral & regional issues," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Officials also published a photo of the top U.S. diplomat shaking hands with Erdogan but offered no comments on what they discussed.

Blinken's Middle East trip comes as fighting between Israel and Hamas' Lebanese allies Hezbollah reached new levels as the weekend began, raising fresh concerns the fighting would spiral into a regional conflict.

Hezbollah fired about 40 rockets into Israel's Meron area from Lebanese territory on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said, later adding that further rocket launches were aimed at the Toula and Margaliot areas.

The Iran-backed Shiite militant group said in a statement the launches targeting the "Meron air traffic control base" atop Mount Jarmaq were "part of the initial response to the crime of assassinating the great leader Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri."

Al-Arouri, a senior Hamas leader, and two companions were killed Tuesday in an Israeli drone strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, regarded as a Hezbollah stronghold.

The IDF said its forces responded with strikes against "a series of Hezbollah targets" in southern Lebanon, including a launch site, military buildings and "terrorist infrastructure."

The U.S. State Department said Blinken's Middle East visit is aimed at preventing the spread of the Israeli-Hamas conflict to other theaters, including Lebanon and the Red Sea, where Washington is committed to deterring attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on commercial shipping.

"The Secretary will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to working with partners to set the conditions necessary for peace in the Middle East, which includes comprehensive, tangible steps toward the realization of a future Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, with both living in peace and security," U.S. officials said on Thursday.

European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell also launched a Middle East diplomatic mission on Saturday, arriving in Lebanon to meet with Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Abdallah Bou Habib and Lebanese Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun.

"Good meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri on the Gaza war & its impact on Lebanon, stressing the need for regional de-escalation & a political solution," Borrell said in a post on X. "Also discussed the internal situation. In these difficult times it is crucial for Lebanon to have strong functioning institutions."

He also met with Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz, commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, to whom he "reaffirmed EU's strong support to the UN mission, which plays a crucial role in preventing and mitigating escalation."