US Secretary of State lands in Israel and is met at the airport by a number of officials, including Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. Antony Blinken does not make a statement to the gathered reporters.

He is set to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and other senior officials

Speaking to reporters before boarding a plane at Joint Base Andrews, Blinken said he’s heading to Israel with “a very simple and clear message on behalf of the president of the United States and on behalf of the American people, and that is that the United States has Israel’s back: “We have the back of the Israeli people. We have their back today. We’ll have it tomorrow. We will have it every day”.

Secretary of State reiterated that the US is determined to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself, highlighting the Islamic State-levels of depravity committed by Hamas.