US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East on Monday to help cement the truce that ended 11 days of deadly bombardments between Israel and Hamas.

"Secretary Blinken will meet with Israeli leaders to discuss our unwavering commitment to Israel's stability," said US President Joe Biden.

"After years of neglect, he will continue our administration's efforts to rebuild ties with and support for the Palestinian people and leaders."

Mr. Biden, who was chastised by many in his own Democratic party for not openly pressuring US ally Israel to call a truce, has praised his administration's "quiet, relentless diplomacy" in bringing the fighting to a halt.

Mr. Blinken's trip will take him to Cairo and Amman for talks with officials there, in addition to meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Mr. Blinken said in a tweet that the trip would help "efforts to solidify a truce."

"The US has engaged in intense diplomacy to put the hostilities to a close and alleviate tensions," he said.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israeli strikes on Gaza this month killed 248 Palestinians, including 66 children, and injured over 1,900 others.

Medics said that rockets and other fires from Gaza killed 12 people in Israel, including one child.

In Israel, at least 357 people were injured.

A senior US official told reporters on Monday that the trip's most urgent aim is to "ensure the ceasefire remains in place."

“We will collaborate with the UN and the Palestinian Authority,” the official said. He clarified that the UN will lead the initiative, but that the US hopes to participate.

“for the reintegration of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza.” Since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, the enclave has been subjected to an Israeli air, naval, and border blockade.

“We don't see Hamas as having a veto power” over the aid, the official said, adding that Washington is in close contact with Gulf partners on the subject.

Mr. Biden's comment on the trip is unusual, and it signals the President's support for the talks and participation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The aim is to keep the administration's quiet and intense diplomacy going, which has included more than 80 phone calls to the area in the last two weeks to try to negotiate a truce.

President Biden said the US is resuming contacts and support for the Palestinian Authority (PA) after "years of neglect," an apparent dig at his predecessor's approach to the conflict.

Mr. Blinken's meeting with Mahmoud Abbas will be the first and most senior meeting between the US and the Palestinian Authority since 2017. In 2018, ties between the PA and the Trump administration deteriorated.

According to Mr. Biden, the trip will focus on organizing "an international initiative to ensure that urgent assistance reaches Gaza in a way that helps the people there rather than Hamas, and on reducing the possibility of more violence in the coming months."

The United States is organizing a Gaza reconstruction conference with Egypt, international and European partners, which will ensure assistance and help through the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations.

Securing such a mechanism has proven difficult.

Hady Amr, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, is still in the area and helped Mr. Blinken plan his first trip to the Middle East.

Mr. Blinken will begin his trip in Jerusalem, where he will meet Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, and other senior Israeli officials, according to the State Department.

He'll meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, and other top officials in Ramallah.

His travel to Cairo will include meetings with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, as well as visits to Jordan, where he will meet King Abdullah and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi.

During Mr. Blinken's stop in Egypt, a US official said, rehabilitation and aid efforts for Gaza will be addressed.

Mr. Al Safadi recently visited Washington to coordinate the truce.