Anthony Blinken is off to the Middle East to push peace talks after Gaza truce. “Blinken’s discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Jordanian King Abdullah II will focus on shoring up the cease-fire, sending urgent aid to Gaza, ending intra-communal violence in Israeli cities and laying the preliminary groundwork for a return to peace talks.” (That all should be no problem…)

+ Steve Coll The New Yorker: In Gaza, an Impasse Cannot Be Mistaken for Stability.