US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Arrives in Saudi Arabia

RIYADH (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the first stop in a broader trip to the Middle East, aimed at discussing with Arab partners post-war Gaza and to press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take the concrete and tangible steps U.S. President Joe Biden demanded this month to improve the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

In Riyadh, Blinken is expected to meet with senior Saudi leaders and hold a wider meeting with counterparts from five Arab states – Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan – to further the discussions on what governance of the Gaza Strip would look like after the war, according to a senior State Department official.

War in Israel and Gaza

Palestinians are inspecting the damage in the rubble of the Al-Bashir mosque following Israeli bombardment in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on April 2, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters.

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