NEW YORK, January 9. /TASS/. The United States expects the fighting in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone to end in a few weeks, NBC reported, citing an unnamed American official.

According to the official, during his visit to Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will impress upon the Israeli authorities the need to end the ground operation as soon as possible. In addition, the top US diplomat will demand greater accuracy in the selection of targets to reduce the number of civilian casualties, NBC pointed out.

On January 4, Blinken embarked on a Middle East tour, which will include visits to Israel, Turkey, as well as a number of Arab states. In December 2023, the Axios news outlet quoted sources as saying that the top US diplomat intends to discuss the settlement of the Middle East conflict with officials in the West Bank of the Jordan River, as well as in Israel, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia at the end of the first week of January.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 240 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also underway in the West Bank.