U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Friday morning, seeking to exert pressure on the Israeli state to ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians. This visit comes as the Israeli military surrounds the city of Gaza after a week of ground incursions and devastating strikes on the besieged enclave.

In his second tour of the Middle East since the start of the war on October 7th, Blinken is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday and attend a meeting of his security cabinet, as reported by a journalist accompanying him from Agence France-Presse.

On Thursday, Blinken stated to reporters at Andrews Air Force Base before heading to the Middle East, “We will discuss tangible steps that can and should be taken to reduce the harm inflicted on men, women, and children in Gaza” amid the ongoing intense airstrikes and the ground operation conducted by Israel in response to an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7th in the history of the Israeli state.