Blinken to travel to Saudi Arabia amid renewed push for a hostage deal

The foreign ministers of Britain, Germany and France are expected at the WEF meeting, alongside the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, WEF President Borge Brende said at a news conference. “There is some new momentum now in the talks around the hostages and also for possible way out of the impasse that we are faced in Gaza,” he said.

Blinken traveled to the country in March to discuss a plan to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel as a path to a two-state solution espoused by the United States.

In Israel, concern is increasing about the possibility of arrest warrants being issued by the International Criminal Court against officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Israeli media reported.

On Friday, Netanyahu appeared to address the reports, writing on social media that “Israel will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense.” He said that while decisions by the ICC would not deter Israel, “it would set a dangerous precedent that threatens the soldiers and officials of all democracies fighting savage terrorism.” Israel and the United States do not accept the jurisdiction of the ICC.

Citing the reports, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson also condemned the potential arrest warrants, saying the court “should stand down on this immediately.” He said the real criminals “are with Hamas and in Iran.”

Here’s what else to know

Blinken’s visit comes amid a renewed push for a deal with Hamas, which released videos of three hostages last week, including of a dual U.S. citizen. The latest video, released Saturday, shows U.S.-born Keith Siegel, 64, and Omri Miran, 47, who were taken hostage on Oct. 7. The footage has added to pressure on Israel to negotiate a deal for their release.

Egyptian officials who visited Israel on Friday for talks on a proposed cease-fire deal are optimistic about the prospects of a truce being reached, according to a former Egyptian official with knowledge of the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive subject. The former official said Israeli cabinet officials accepted “for the first time” the idea of a long-lasting halt to the fighting and expressed willingness to hold off on attacking Rafah, in southern Gaza, if a deal can be reached. The proposal is now with Hamas, he said.

Pro-Palestinian protests unfolded outside the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday, with demonstrators posing as slain Gaza journalists outside the Washington Hilton. They laid out press vests to mark those killed in the enclave and unfurled a Palestinian flag out of a window at the venue.

More than 600 people have been arrested on campuses across the United States for demonstrations over the Israel-Gaza war, as university leaders struggle to balance demonstrators’ freedom of expression with the need to keep campuses safe and welcoming. Jill Stein, a presidential candidate for the Green Party, said late Saturday on X that she, her campaign manager and deputy campaign manager were arrested at Washington University in St. Louis.

At least 34,454 people have been killed and 77,575 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 261 soldiers have been killed since its military operation in Gaza.

Claire Parker contributed to this report.