US Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he disembarks from an aircraft on his arrival in Tel Aviv, Israel, 3 November, AFP
Prior to his departure, Blinken said he would seek "concrete steps" from Israel to ensure that harm to Palestinian civilians is reduced, as US President Joe Biden also called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict.
This is Blinken's second trip to the Middle East since the war broke out on 7 October.
"We will be talking about concrete steps that can and should be taken to minimise harm to men, women and children in Gaza," Blinken told reporters before departing for Israel.
"This is something that the United States is committed to."
"When I see a Palestinian child - a boy, a girl - pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building, that hits me in the gut as much as seeing a child in Israel or anywhere else," Blinken said.
"So this is something that we have an obligation to respond to, and we will."
Biden has promised full support and ramped-up military aid to Israel for its war in Gaza, but in a visible shift of tone has also voiced empathy for Palestinian suffering which has stoked anger in parts of the world.
"I think we need a pause," Biden said on Thursday at a campaign event.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby later clarified what such a pause would entail.
"A humanitarian pause is temporary, localised and focused on a particular objective or objectives, humanitarian aid in, people out," Kirby told reporters.
Short link: