<p>US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East next week, the US State Department said on Friday, as Washington is trying to put pressure on Israel and Hamas to take a ceasefire proposal that US President Joe Biden laid out last week.</p><p>In his eighth visit to the region since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, triggering the latest episode of bloodshed in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the top US diplomat will visit Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Qatar and meet with their senior leaders.</p>
<p>US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East next week, the US State Department said on Friday, as Washington is trying to put pressure on Israel and Hamas to take a ceasefire proposal that US President Joe Biden laid out last week.</p><p>In his eighth visit to the region since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, triggering the latest episode of bloodshed in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the top US diplomat will visit Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Qatar and meet with their senior leaders.</p>