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       Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition

       Tuesday Briefing: Blinken’s High-Stakes Middle East Trip

       Also, King Charles’s cancer diagnosis and the women who ruled the Grammys.

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       By Amelia Nierenberg

       Feb. 5, 2024, 4:04 p.m. ET

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       Smoke rose over Gaza yesterday after Israeli strikes. Credit...Said Khatib/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

       Blinken began a push for the latest cease-fire deal Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, landed in Saudi Arabia yesterday, beginning his visit to the Middle East. He is trying to prevent the Israel-Hamas conflict from becoming a broader regional war — and to rally allies around a proposal to release hostages in Gaza.

       Here’s the latest.

       Blinken’s visit comes as the U.S. and its Arab allies wait for Hamas to respond to a proposal for a potential cease-fire. Under the proposed agreement, Hamas would return more than 100 Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a pause in fighting there and for the release of Palestinians in Israeli jails.

       The Biden administration is also pursuing further retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed militias that have targeted U.S. troops. A U.S. official said Blinken would seek to reassure U.S. allies that the strikes should not be interpreted as an escalation of fighting in the Middle East.

       Politics: Many blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel for the security failures that led to the Oct. 7 attacks and want him out of office. While there’s no clear way to force early elections, there are other ways to oust him.

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       The Red Sea: The Houthi attacks on commercial ships are driving up freight costs.

       Strikes: A drone attacked a base that houses U.S. and allied troops in eastern Syria, killing six fighters from a Kurdish military group, according to the group’s official media outlet.

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       Amelia Nierenberg writes the Asia Pacific Morning Briefing for The Times. More about Amelia Nierenberg

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