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Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister to Meet Blinken, White House’s Sullivan

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks before a participating in a Defense Cooperation Agreement signing ceremony with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, US, December 21, 2023. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks before a participating in a Defense Cooperation Agreement signing ceremony with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, US, December 21, 2023. (Reuters)
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Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister to Meet Blinken, White House’s Sullivan

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks before a participating in a Defense Cooperation Agreement signing ceremony with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, US, December 21, 2023. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks before a participating in a Defense Cooperation Agreement signing ceremony with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, US, December 21, 2023. (Reuters)

Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday to discuss the conflict in Gaza and the return of hostages held by group Hamas, the White House said.

The meeting in Washington comes as the United States has publicly urged Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza amid the rising death toll from the conflict. Blinken also held a call with Dermer earlier this month.

The days around Christmas have seen an upsurge in the war, particularly in a central area just south of the seasonal waterway that bisects the Gaza Strip.

Israel launched fresh air strikes against central Gaza on Tuesday, where the United Nations said it was alarmed by an intensification of Israeli attacks that killed more than 100 Palestinians in one part of the enclave since Christmas Eve.

Hamas killed 1,200 people and captured 240 hostages on Oct. 7 in the deadliest day in Israeli history.

Since then, Israel has assaulted Hamas-ruled Gaza, with Palestinian health authorities saying nearly 21,000 people have been confirmed killed in Israeli strikes and thousands more are feared buried under rubble.

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South Korea, China Evacuate Citizens from Lebanon as Tensions Rise

South Korean nationals and their family members arrive after being evacuated from Lebanon with a South Korea's military aircraft at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)
South Korean nationals and their family members arrive after being evacuated from Lebanon with a South Korea's military aircraft at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)
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South Korea, China Evacuate Citizens from Lebanon as Tensions Rise

South Korean nationals and their family members arrive after being evacuated from Lebanon with a South Korea's military aircraft at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)
South Korean nationals and their family members arrive after being evacuated from Lebanon with a South Korea's military aircraft at the Seoul airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Yonhap via AP)

A South Korean military transport aircraft returned 97 citizens and family members from Lebanon on Saturday as Middle East tensions rise, the foreign ministry said.

A KC-330 aircraft left Beirut on Friday afternoon with the evacuees, who include Lebanese family members, and arrived at a military airfield on the south of Seoul, the ministry said.

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday ordered military aircraft to be deployed to evacuate South Korean citizens from parts of the Middle East as conflict escalates between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as the armed group's backer, Iran.

South Korea's defense ministry said it flew a C130J transport plane as backup, which is capable of operating on shorter runways and under fire, as a precaution, and sent 39 military personnel, including mechanics and diplomats.

The government will take further actions to ensure the safety of its citizens, the foreign ministry said without elaborating.

South Korean diplomats stationed in Lebanon remained in the country, Yonhap news agency reported.

More than 200 Chinese citizens have been safely evacuated from Lebanon, China's foreign ministry said on Saturday.

"These people, who have been evacuated in two batches, include three Hong Kong residents and one Taiwan compatriot," the ministry said in a statement in response to a Reuters query on the situation.

"The Chinese Embassy in Lebanon remains firm in Lebanon and continues to assist Chinese citizens remaining there in taking security measures," it added.

On Wednesday, China's official Xinhua news agency said more than 200 Chinese citizens had been safely evacuated from Lebanon by the government.

Taiwan's foreign ministry said three Taiwanese in Lebanon were expected to return to the island this month and that two others had opted to stay for family reasons.

The ministry added that another Taiwanese decided late last month to take a boat out of the country arranged by China, and that the de facto Taiwan embassy in Jordan was aware of that process. It did not elaborate.