The US State Department announced on Sunday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel and Jordan after he visits Saudi Arabia on his upcoming trip to the Middle East which concludes on Wednesday, reported AFP.
Blinken will travel to both countries, a State Department official confirmed as the top US diplomat refuelled Sunday in Ireland on his way to the previously announced stop in Saudi Arabia.
The Secretary of State has visited Israel multiple times since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, most recently last month, when he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The State Department did not immediately announce details of this trip to Jordan and Israel.
In a statement announcing the earlier Saudi stop, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken will work on ceasefire efforts in Gaza but added, "It is Hamas that is standing between the Palestinian people and a ceasefire."
Blinken’s trip to Israel was announced after President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by telephone about ongoing talks to halt Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip in return for the release of hostages.
During the conversation, Biden also reiterated concerns about Israel launching an operation in the Gazan city of Rafah.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of the Seventh Day of Passover in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)