Blinken to visit Israel this week to meet with Netanyahu, other officials

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is slated to visit Israel later this week, a US official said.

He is expected to meet with members of the Israeli government on Friday, and later making other stops in the region, US Department of State Spokesperson Matt Miller said.

Blinken is also scheduled to meet Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman in Washington on Wednesday along with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Prince Khalid and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan met at the White House on Monday to discuss the war in Gaza as the death toll climbed to over 8,300 due to Israeli strikes after more than 1,400 were killed in Israel when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Oct. 7.

“Met with @JakeSullivan46 to discuss the Saudi-US partnership. I stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, protection of civilians, allowing humanitarian aid, and resuming the peace process.” Prince Khalid said on X.

In a statement released on Saturday, Saudi Arabia expressed its strong disapproval of the Israeli military’s ground operations, and said that they could jeopardize the lives of Palestinian civilians.

It is unclear if Blinken will make any other stops during his trip to the Middle East.