Middle East

NPR =  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, today for his sixth trip to the region since the start of the Israel-Gaza war. The U.N. and experts on global hunger warn that Palestinians in Gaza are facing severe hunger, with some already dying from starvation.   Blinken's visit highlights "a rift growing between the Biden administration and Israel's government," NPR's Aya Batrawy tells Up First. Israel's government is determined to launch a ground offensive against Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. Blinken says this would be a mistake and something the U.S. can't support.