Blinken lands in Israel to 'solidify' ceasefire

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, days after an Egypt-brokered truce between Israel and the Gaza Strip's rulers Hamas halted Israel's 11-day bombardment of the besieged territory.

Blinken, who said earlier his trip would aim to support "efforts to solidify a ceasefire", was set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, though he was not to meet Hamas.

He will then travel on to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan.

US President Joe Biden said Blinken would meet "with Israeli leaders about our ironclad commitment to Israel's security," as well as seeking to rebuild ties with the Palestinians.

Great to greet US 🇺🇸 Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his first official visit to Israel as Secretary. Shalom and welcome to 🇮🇱 @SecBlinken pic.twitter.com/aE1BuGHcZI

— Gil Haskel 🇮🇱 (@GilHaskel) May 25, 2021

Blinken on Sunday said that US support for a two-state solution is the only way to provide hope to Israelis and Palestinians that they can live "with equal measures of security, of peace and dignity."

His remarks about "equal measures" for Israelis and Palestinians seemed to shift the tone from Donald Trump's administration, which cut aid to the Palestinian Authority and unveiled a Middle East peace plan with strong Israeli backing but no support from Palestinians.

Read also: Palestinians must capitalise on this momentum or they'll be back to square one

Israeli air strikes and artillery fire on Gaza killed 253 Palestinians, including 66 children, and wounded over 1,900 people in 11 days of conflict from May 10, the health ministry in Gaza says.

Rocket and other fire from Gaza claimed 12 lives in Israel, including one child. Some 357 people in Israel have been wounded.