Blinken: Rocket attacks on Israel must stop 'immediately'

"We're very focused on the situation in Israel, West Bank, Gaza, very deeply concerned about the rocket attacks that we're seeing now, that they need to stop, they need to stop immediately," Blinken said ahead of a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

Tensions have been running high in the region for days. On Monday, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets toward the Jerusalem area and southern Israel, carrying out a threat to punish Israel for violent confrontations with Palestinians in Jerusalem.

Gaza's ruling Islamist group Hamas had given an ultimatum demanding that Israel stand down forces in the al Aqsa mosque, Islam's third most sacred site.