Blinken in Saudi Arabia to discuss Gaza

The top American diplomat will go to Israel at the end of this week, where he is expected to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take concrete steps that United States President Joe Biden urged this month to improve the serious humanitarian situation in Gaza.

In Riyadh, Blinken is expected to meet with senior Saudi leaders and to hold a broader meeting with counterparts of five Arab states, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan to further discussions on what Gaza's Belt leadership would look like after the war, a senior State Department official said.

Blinken is also expected to unite Arab countries with European states and discuss how Europe can help rebuild the small enclave, which has turned into a desert in the six-month Israeli bombings.

Islamic fighters of the Palestinian militant group Hamas ] -- the group declared terrorist organisation by the US and the EU -- attacked Israel on October 7th, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 253 hostages, according to Israeli data.

Israel then established a total siege in Gaza and launched an air and ground attack that killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Talks on the reconstruction and governance of Gaza have been continuing for months with a clear mechanism that has not yet emerged.

The United States agrees with Israel's goal that Hamas must be eradicated and that he can no longer play a role in Gaza's future, but Washington does not want Israel to retake the belt.

Instead, a facility that will include a Palestinian Authority reformed with the support of Arab states has been seen.

Blinken will also discuss with Saudi authorities efforts at a normalisation agreement between the kingdom and Israel.

In exchange for normalisation, Arab states and Washington push Israel to comply with a path to Palestinian citizenship, something Netanyahu has repeatedly refused.

From Riyadh, Blinken will head to Jordan and Israel, where the focus of the trip will shift to efforts to improve the serious humanitarian situation in Gaza.

In Amman, Blinken will meet with high Jordanian officials and humanitarian groups to hear about improvements, what needs to be done more, and then send this reaction to the Israelites later this week.

Blinken's trip to control humanitarian aid comes about a month after President Biden issued a stern warning to Netanyah, saying Washington's policy could change if Israel does not take steps to deal with the damage of civilians, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers.

Senior American officials in recent weeks have welcomed Israel's steps to improve the humanitarian situation, but have repeatedly said more needs to be done.

According to a White House statement, in a call Sunday with Netanyah, Biden cited Israeli preparations to open new border points north of Gaza, where the risk of hunger remains high this week.