US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday ahead of key meetings with Israeli officials on Tuesday, CNN reported.
Blinken is expected to push Israeli officials on the need to do more to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip, according to the report.
This is his fourth trip to the region since the October 7 Hamas attack and his fifth visit to Israel. On his first trip following the attack, he visited Israel twice.
As Blinken arrived in Israel, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller wrote on X, “Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow. They cannot and they must not be pressed to leave Gaza.”
“We must build a more secure, a more stable, a more peaceful future for the region,” he added.
Earlier on Monday, Blinken visited Saudi Arabia, where he met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discussed efforts being made to achieve security and stability in Gaza.
The crown prince "stressed the importance of stopping military operations, intensifying humanitarian efforts, and working to create conditions for the return of stability," the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Blinken has previously visited other Arab nations involved in talks on another possible humanitarian ceasefire and hostage release, including Jordan and Qatar.
Miller said this past Thursday that Blinken will be holding tough conversations on plans for the day after the war in Gaza during his visit to Israel.
The spokesperson told reporters that the US will be “pushing additional steps on what Gaza should look like at the end of the conflict”, though he did not elaborate on what those steps would be.
“But we have been working very hard in this building, throughout the administration, and quietly with allies and partners in the region and throughout the world on what the day after ought to look like. Those are going to be some of the toughest conversations, of course, but we’re ready to go pursue them,” he added.