Blinken arrived in Israel earlier in the day and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before going to the foreign ministry. He was greeted by Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi as the truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas continued to hold.
Blinken reaffirmed the U.S. commitment “to Israel’s security” and to moving “forward now on dealing with the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
Secretary Blinken said, “I’m here, as I said earlier, to reaffirm the strong commitment of the United States to Israel’s security, to the partnership between us, to move forward now on dealing with the humanitarian situation in Gaza and also starting to rebuild, to reengage with the Palestinian community, and the Palestinian Authority.”
Ashkenazi and Blinken have been in frequent conversations recently over the eleven days of heavy fighting between Palestinian militants and Israel.
Blinken was due to meet western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank later in the day.
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