Visiting US top diplomat Antony Blinken discussed Wednesday with his Saudi counterpart "the urgent need" to protect civilians in war-battered Gaza and efforts toward a truce, the State Department said. Secretary of State Blinken, who landed in Jeddah earlier Wednesday on the first leg of a regional tour that was extended to include Israel, met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan before holding talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
