Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to Israel Monday to continue talks with Israeli leaders, capping a weekend whirlwind tour of Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Blinken said President Biden will depart for Israel today in a show of solidarity, as Israel’s military prepares for a ground offensive in Gaza.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken: “President Biden will again make clear, as he’s done unequivocally since Hamas’s slaughter of more than 1,400 people, including at least 30 Americans, that Israel has the right, and indeed the duty, to defend its people from Hamas and other terrorists and to prevent future attacks.”

Blinken said Biden would later visit Jordan for talks with Jordanian King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Biden’s trip comes after the U.S. Navy said it is dispatching a second aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, to the eastern Mediterranean in support of Israel.