US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to the West Bank and expressed his commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state. During his visit, Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. Abbas demanded an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, which has been under attack by Israeli forces in response to Hamas’s attack on Israeli civilians. Blinken assured Abbas of the US commitment to providing aid to Gaza and expressed support for the Palestinians’ legitimate aspirations for a Palestinian state. In a separate development, Hamas claimed that an Israeli airstrike on the Maghazi refugee camp resulted in the deaths of at least 47 people. Violence has also continued in the West Bank, with 121 Palestinians killed since the war in Gaza began. Blinken’s visit to the West Bank was met with protests, and there were demonstrations in various cities around the world calling for a ceasefire.