US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will go to the Middle East for the sixth time since the commencement of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza over six months ago, the State Department announced on Saturday. Blinken`s forthcoming trip will involve a visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday, followed by a World Economic Forum conference and consultations with Arab foreign ministers in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. Notably, the State Department`s notice did not mention the visit to Israel on Tuesday.

Blinken`s visit to the region comes after recent meetings in China with President Xi Jinping and other top officials. The prolonged battle in Gaza has had terrible implications, with over 34,000 Palestinians murdered and hundreds of thousands homeless, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region, reported the Associated Press.