Blinken visits Middle East to bolster Israel-Hamas cease-fire
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Jerusalem, Ramallah, Cairo and Amman this week for discussions on maintaining the fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is headed to the Middle East to build on a cease-fire that ended the worst fighting in years between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip.
“Following up on our quiet, intensive diplomacy to bring about a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, I have asked my secretary of state, Tony Blinken, to travel to the Middle East this week,” President Joe Biden announced in a statement early Monday morning.
The secretary's trip, which includes stops in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Cairo and Amman this week, will underscore “our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” Biden said, adding that Blinken will continue "our administration’s efforts to rebuild ties to, and support for, the Palestinian people and leaders, after years of neglect.”
The fragile truce, which took effect early Friday morning, halted 11 days of fighting between Israel and Islamist militant group Hamas that left more than 250 people dead, the vast majority of them Palestinians.
