US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that he would ask Israel to take “concrete steps” to minimise harm to civilians in Gaza as he left on a crisis trip to the Middle East, AFP reports.

“When I see a Palestinian child — a boy, a girl pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building — that hits me in the gut as much as seeing a child in Israel or anywhere else,” Blinken told reporters at Andrews Air Force Base as he flew out. “So this is something that we have an obligation to respond to, and we will.”

“We will be talking about concrete steps that can and should be taken to minimize harm to men, women, and children in Gaza,” Blinken said.

But in line with a subtle shift in tone by President Joe Biden, Blinken emphasised sorrow over the killings of Palestinians which have outraged much of the Arab world.