US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to depart today for his second visit to Israel in less than a month, Reuters reports.

He plans to meet Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday to voice solidarity but also to reassert the need to minimise Palestinian civilian casualties, his spokesperson said.

Blinken will also stop in Jordan — one of a handful of Arab states to have normalised relations with Israel — where he will underscore the importance of protecting civilian lives and reiterate a US commitment to ensure Palestinians are not forcibly displaced from Gaza, a growing concern of the Arab world, the spokesman said.

He will pursue talks led by Egypt and Qatar on securing the release of all of the hostages held by Hamas.