"The United States has Israel's back" – Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has promised unwavering support for Israel in its fight against the militant group Hamas, saying that "the US has Israel's back". Speaking at a press conference alongside Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem yesterday, Blinken also said the attacks by Hamas on Israel last weekend had “harrowing echoes” of Nazi massacres.

He is now set to tour the region to meet PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan's King Abdullah II and more, to urge all parties not to broaden the conflict or open a second front. Israel has continued to bomb the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million people, with an unprecedented intensity.

As a result, so far 1,537 Palestinians have been killed, while 6,612 others have been injured. Among the dead are 500 children. The Israeli army has also ordered residents of the north of the Gaza Strip to evacuate amid the indiscriminate bombing, amid reports that they will not be allowed to return. This has raised fears of a "Second Nakba" among Palestinians.

Produced by Alexander Durie