Middle East

CNN - Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on a high-stakes trip to Israel and the Middle East as the US seeks to move forward with long-stalled negotiations to bring back the Israeli hostages and end the war in Gaza. In the wake of the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, there appears to be little clarity on who will take over the militant group, making it difficult to ascertain the probability of striking a new deal. Hamas has shown no inclination to change its stance on hostage and ceasefire negotiations. Blinken is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today amid tempered expectations he will return to Washington having made any significant progress on the hostage talks. Instead, US officials believe that the most pivotal place for him to make progress is on the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza.