An escalation of the situation in the Middle East is in nobody’s interest, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in a Friday phone call. Against the backdrop of concerns about possible retaliatory strikes against Israel over the killing of leading figures from Palestinian militant organization Hamas and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia, Blinken reassured Gallant of Washington’s support, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. Blinken “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and discussed how escala…