US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken announced an additional $404 million in new aid to Palestinians, while attending the “Call for Action: Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza” Conference in Jordan on Tuesday.

This is in addition to “the more than $1.8 billion in development, economic, and humanitarian aid that the United States has provided since 2021”, as “the largest single country provider of assistance for Palestinians,” Blinken noted.

BLINKEN: ‘IF YOU WANT A CEASEFIRE, PRESS HAMAS TO SAY YES’: Even though the ceasefire and hostage release plan announced by President Joe Biden on May 31 was presented as an Israeli proposal, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Tel Aviv on Monday urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to support it.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reiterated his “commitment” to the ceasefire proposal as the world awaits Hamas’s response.

The secretary is in the Middle East, where he has met and will continue to meet with regional leaders, including those from Qatar and Egypt, which are acting as mediators, along with the United States, between Israel and Hamas.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced an additional $404 million in aid to Gaza as he spoke in Jordan on Tuesday, where he urged Hamas to accept the current cease-fire proposal “without delay” during talks with Middle Eastern leaders.

Blinken, who is touring the Middle East to push for a deal and an exchange of hostages in the Gaza Strip after months of violence and high death tolls, received a boost from a U.S.-sponsored U.N. Security Council resolution backing the plan Monday. Hamas welcomed the resolution.

President Joe Biden’s administration plans to “look at the appropriate steps” to retaliate against the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants for Israel‘s leaders, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“We want to work with you on a bipartisan basis to find an appropriate response,” Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Americans traveling abroad are being urged to exercise caution worldwide, the State Department said Friday. 

The agency issued a security alert because of the "potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests."

"The Department of State is aware of the increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence against LGBTQI+ persons and events and advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution," the alert states. 

The State Department has issued a worldwide travel advisory urging U.S. citizens overseas to stay alert at upcoming Pride celebrations due to the potential for increased violence against people in the LGBTQ+ community.

“Due to the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution,” the State Department said. “Stay alert in locations frequented by tourists, including Pride celebrations and venues frequented by LGBTQI+ persons.” 

Neil Young songs aren’t typically used as tools of diplomacy. Tuesday night in wartime Ukraine’s capital, not long before curfew, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken deployed a left-handed guitar in the service of supporting Kyiv in its fight against Russia.

Before Blinken became the top American diplomat, he was a serious rock guitarist — and along with a Ukrainian band, he played “Rockin’ in the Free World,” a 1989 song by Young, the Canadian American musician, for a packed basement music club.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the latter's visit to Kyiv on May 14.

The president thanked Blinken for the "crucial package" of $61 billion in U.S. aid passed by Congress in April. While this decision unblocked the flow of American assistance after six months of delays, it will likely still take some time before the effects are felt on the battlefield.

"A big appreciation from Ukrainians to Americans for this," Zelensky said.