U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a meeting on Thursday with Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as part of his regional tour aimed at addressing the ongoing conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

On the same day, Blinken is scheduled to meet with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Al Thani, prior to engaging in discussions with Arab officials in London on Friday.

A key focus of Blinken’s agenda is to advocate for an increase in humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza. Concurrently, France organized an international conference in Paris on Thursday to gather funds for those impacted by the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Lebanon.

The Israeli military reported on Thursday that it has launched a new series of airstrikes targeting Hezbollah’s weapons production facilities in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Additionally, Lebanon’s military confirmed that three of its soldiers lost their lives in an Israeli strike while they were involved in a rescue operation near the village of Yater in southern Lebanon.

Israel has stated that its conflict is directed at Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, rather than at Lebanon itself, amid concerns of escalating regional tensions.

In a separate development on Thursday, Syria’s defense ministry reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted Damascus, resulting in the death of at least one soldier and injuries to seven others.

Israel typically refrains from commenting on its operations in Syria, but it has conducted strikes against Iranian-affiliated targets there for years, aiming to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah and to disrupt Iranian proxy activities.

During his tour, Blinken visited both Israel and Saudi Arabia, where he emphasized the need to cease hostilities in Gaza and to facilitate the release of hostages currently held by Hamas, which is backed by Iran.

The U.S. Secretary of State has also focused on the future resolution of the conflict, engaging in discussions with officials regarding security, governance, and reconstruction efforts in Gaza.

The conflict in Gaza was ignited by the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 fatalities and the abduction of 250 individuals. Currently, Hamas is believed to be holding around 100 hostages, with a third of them thought to be deceased.

Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip has resulted in the deaths of over 42,700 Palestinians, as reported by the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel asserts that this figure encompasses several thousand Hamas fighters.

The United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and other nations have classified both Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist groups.