Amid warnings of a 'full scale war,' Biden administration dispatches envoy to Middle East
Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY
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WASHINGTON – The Biden administration dispatched a top State Department diplomat to the Middle East "immediately" to try to de-escalate the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday.
President Joe Biden faces growing pressure to help stem the violence and heightened international alarm over the spiraling death toll. The United Nations' special coordinator for the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, warned on Wednesday that the situation "is escalating toward full scale war."
More than 80 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting, including 17 children and seven women, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and another 480 people have been wounded. Hamas, the Islamic militant group that seized power in Gaza in 2007, acknowledged that a top commander and several other militants were among the dead.