US vows support for Gaza truce but no 'benefit' for Hamas

Blinken's tour, which started in Israel and will also take him to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan, comes as unrest still grips parts of annexed east Al Quds after Friday's ceasefire ended 11 days of fighting in and around the Gaza Strip.

At a joint news conference in Al Quds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas later in the West Bank, Blinken warned that Washington would not allow international aid to rebuild impoverished Gaza to benefit Hamas.

"We'll work with our partners closely, with all, to ensure that Hamas does not benefit from the reconstruction assistance," Blinken said.

Netanyahu warned that Israel would respond very strongly if Hamas violated the truce.

Blinken, who said earlier his trip would aim to support "efforts to solidify a ceasefire", had no contacts with Hamas, which is blacklisted as a terror group by Washington and most other Western governments.

"The United States fully supports Israel's right to defend itself," he reiterated.

US President Joe Biden said Blinken would meet "with Israeli leaders about our ironclad commitment to Israel's security", as well as seeking to rebuild ties with the Palestinians.

Blinken on Sunday reaffirmed US support for a two-state solution as the only way to provide hope to Israelis and Palestinians that they can live "with equal measures of security, of peace and dignity".

His remarks about "equal measures" for Israelis and Palestinians seemed to shift the tone from Donald Trump's administration, which cut aid to the Palestinian Authority and unveiled a Middle East peace plan with strong Israeli backing but no support from Palestinians.

In Al Quds, Blinken said Israelis and Palestinians faced an uphill struggle to restore trust, after conflict in Gaza and unrest in the West Bank.