Blinken raises Gaza 'safe areas' on Israel support tour

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is working with Israel to assign safe areas for civilians in Gaza, an official said, as the top US diplomat Friday toured the region ahead of an expected major Israeli offensive in response to Hamas attacks.

After a visit to Israel to show unwavering solidarity with the US ally, Blinken is travelling to six Arab countries where he will ask them to use their influence to rein in Hamas and encourage the Islamist militants to free an estimated 150 hostages.

But as anger swells in parts of the Arab world, Blinken also discussed ways to protect civilians in Hamas-controlled Gaza where Israel called Friday on more than one million people to evacuate ahead of an expected ground invasion.

A US official said Israel agreed with Blinken in the talks in Tel Aviv on "the need to establish some safe areas where civilians could relocate, be safe from Israel's legitimate security operations".

"The Israelis are committed to it," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity on Blinken's plane.

Hamas militants on October 7 shocked Israel by breaching its southern border and killing more than 1,300 people, including children, the elderly and revellers at an electronic music festival.

Even before an expected ground operation, Israel has killed at least 1,799 people in strikes in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attack and has cut off food, water and electricity.

In Washington, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby acknowledged that evacuating 1.1 million people would be "a tall order".

US officials also appeared to backtrack on earlier efforts to let Gazans flee to adjacent Egypt, saying they did not see wide support and instead wanted safe areas within Gaza.

Instead, the United States is working with both Egypt and Israel to let Americans and other foreign nationals leave through the Rafah border crossing, the US official said.

Concerns from Jordan

Blinken opened the day consulting in Amman with King Abdullah II as well as Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

The Jordanian king, a long-time US partner, called for "humanitarian corridors" to bring relief into Gaza and de-escalate the situation, a statement from the royal court said.

Abdullah, whose kingdom is home to two million Palestinian refugees, warned against another permanent displacement, this time from Gaza.

"The crisis should not be spread to neighbouring countries and exacerbate the refugee issue," the king told Blinken, according to the palace.

Blinken spoke with King Abdullah on "ways to address the humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza while Israel conducts legitimate security operations to defend itself from terrorism," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Blinken later headed to Qatar, which has ties with both the United States and Hamas, whose primary foreign backer is Iran's clerical state.

Blinken earlier said he would seek from Arab countries help to "prevent the conflict from spreading, and to use their leverage with Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release the hostages".

The top US diplomat will later head to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Saudi Arabia in the weeks before the attacks had spoken of progress in US-led diplomacy to normalise relations with Israel -- a landmark step for the conservative kingdom that is guardian of Islam's two holiest sites.

Few expect the momentum to be maintained, with the Saudis joining Qatar in blaming Israeli policies towards the Palestinians for the flare-up in violence.

Working with Abbas

The nearly 88-year-old Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority enjoys small levels of autonomy in the West Bank, is a sworn foe of Hamas, whose control of the Gaza Strip has led to a 17-year Israeli blockade.

Blinken entered his private residence in Amman and shook hands next to a painting that depicted the veteran Palestinian leader superimposed in front of Islam's holy Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Blinken promised to work the Palestinian Authority and praised Abbas for efforts to maintain calm in the West Bank over the past week.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long sought to sideline the Palestinian Authority and Abbas, saying he is insufficiently committed to stopping violence, with the hard-right Israeli government rejecting the prospect of a two-state solution.