China News Service reported on March 21 that US Secretary of State Blinken arrived in the Middle East on the 20th local time.
The Associated Press stated that this is Blinken’s sixth emergency trip to the Middle East since the start of a new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Data map: US Secretary of State Blinken.
Photo by China News Service reporter Chen Mengtong
According to Reuters, after arriving in Saudi Arabia, Blinken met with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal and is expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
Blinken will then travel to Egypt to hold talks with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan, as well as the Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
The Associated Press stated that as the number of civilian casualties in the conflict continues to increase, tensions between the United States and Israel on the Palestinian-Israeli issue continue to increase.
Blinken will travel to Tel Aviv, Israel, on the 22nd.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said, "Blinken will discuss ongoing negotiations with Israeli government leaders to ensure the release of all detained individuals."
Blinken's visit to the Middle East comes as ceasefire negotiations in Gaza are progressing with difficulty.
Hamas said on the 20th that Israel reacted "negatively" to the ceasefire proposal.
According to data released by the Palestinian Gaza Strip health department on the 20th, Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours resulted in a total of 104 deaths and 162 injuries.
Since the outbreak of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip have killed more than 31,900 people and injured nearly 74,000 people.