Blinken to Visit Israel in Push for Gaza Cease-Fire

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Saudi Arabia Wednesday on the first stop of his new Mideast effort to secure a cease-fire in the Israeli-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and said he was adding a stop in Israel on Friday to meet with officials there.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that in Israel, Blinken "will discuss the need to ensure the defeat of Hamas, including in Rafah, in a way t