Blinken Holds Calls With Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Saturday with foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, reiterating Israel’s right to self defense, calling for coordinated efforts to halt the Hamas attacks, and discussing “the unprecedented scale and brutality of the Hamas attacks on Israeli territory,” according to a State Department spokesman.

Following his call with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the two sides agreed to remain in close coordination, according to the State Department. The U.S. has recently been working to broker normalization in diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, an effort that could be complicated by the attacks.