US Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed Monday for Israel and other unspecified countries in the Middle East as the United States seeks to move forward on efforts to resolve the conflict in the wake of the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Blinken will discuss the importance of ending the war in Gaza, ways to chart a post-conflict plan for the Palestinian enclave, and how to reach a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

The low-boil conflict between Israel and Iran has shaped the Middle East for decades. Of the many conflicts that have roiled the region, theirs has long been among the most explosive. The two have attacked each other — mostly quietly and in Iran’s case often by proxy — while avoiding an escalation into direct war.