Blinken urges protection of civilians as Israel prepares for expected assault

Antony Blinken has visited Saudi Arabia (Jacquelyn Martin, pool/AP )

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has called for protection for civilians in both the Gaza Strip and Israel as the Israeli military ordered half of the Palestinian territory’s population to evacuate in advance of an expected ground assault.

Mr Blinken met his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, in Riyadh as he began a third day of intense Middle East diplomacy aimed at preventing the Israel-Hamas war from expanding into a regional conflict and fuelling a humanitarian crisis.