Middle East conflict live updates: New optimism on cease-fire talks as Blinken visits region

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken continues his tour of the Middle East on Tuesday, heading to Jordan and Israel with a focus on getting more humanitarian aid to civilians in the embattled Gaza Strip. The visit, his seventh to the region since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, comes amid fresh optimism that negotiations could lead to a cease-fire.