On Friday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin landed in Tel Aviv to meet with Israeli officials and inspect some of the weapons and security aid the US swiftly sent to Israel during the first week of the conflict with the extremist Hamas group.
Austin’s trip to Israel is the second by a senior American official in as many days. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the region on Thursday, so his brief flight from Brussels, where he was attending a NATO defense ministers meeting, arrives a day later.
Blinken is maintaining his frenzied diplomacy in the Middle East in an effort to prevent a wider regional crisis.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and the Israeli Security Cabinet are all scheduled to meet with Austin.
At the time of his arrival, the Israeli military had already ordered the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Gaza City residents in preparation for a possible Israeli ground invasion.
The Hamas government in Gaza issued a response urging Palestinians to “stay in your houses and stand firm” against Israel.
Officials from the Department of Defense who are accompanying Austin say he wants to stress the United States’ enduring support for the Israeli people and its dedication to providing Israel with the defense capabilities it requires.
The United States has provided Israel with tiny diameter bombs and interceptor missiles for its Iron Dome system, according to a senior defense official. We anticipate the arrival of further armaments on Friday.
Austin has overseen the quick redeployment of US ships, intelligence support, and other assets to Israel and the region, and he has spoken with Gallant almost daily.
The United States quickly deployed warships and aircraft to the area following the devastating Hamas strike across the border into Israel.
The strike group from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is currently in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and another carrier was set to leave from Virginia on Friday.
The United States is assisting the Israelis with information and other planning help, including advise on the hostage situation, but Austin would to clarify if the United States is conducting surveillance flights in the region.
On Friday, Blinken met with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman after visiting Israel the day before to personally give the diplomatic backing of the Biden administration.
After the meeting, neither one of them addressed the press.
After that, Blinken met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, the capital of Jordan.
According to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, Blinken met with the king to discuss the raid by Hamas last Saturday and efforts to free all hostages the militants abducted.
While Israel is conducting legitimate security operations to defend itself from terrorism, Blinken explored solutions to address the humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza. He emphasized that Hamas does not stand for the right to dignity and self-determination of the Palestinian people.
The king has a vested interest in the condition of the Palestinian people because his kingdom has a sizable Palestinian population, and Abbas is in charge of the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank.
According to a palace statement, Abdullah emphasized the need of safeguarding people and striving to bring a halt to the escalation of the conflict by opening humanitarian corridors to allow medical aid and relief into Gaza.
He warned against any attempts to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza and elsewhere, or to cause internal displacement, and he pleaded with those listening to not obstruct the work of international agencies.
The UN reports that earlier on Friday, Israel’s military issued an unprecedented order for over half of Gaza’s inhabitants to evacuate the north in preparation for an expected ground assault by Israel against the ruling Hamas.
In conformity with universally held moral principles, international law, and humanitarian norms, the king further called for the protection of innocent civilians on both sides of the conflict.
To discuss the release of the dozens of Israelis and foreigners taken hostage by Hamas during their unprecedented incursion into southern Israel last weekend, Blinken will fly to Doha later on Friday. These Qatari officials have close contacts with the Hamas leadership and have been exploring an exchange of Palestinian prisoners in Israel for the release of the hostages.
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