Blinken talks to Saudi, Emirati and Turkish counterparts

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a second phone call in less than two days with Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud.

Blinken on Sunday also held a call with his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed and Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan.

The Biden administration has been working for months to normalise ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The surprise attack by Hamas is widely seen as a blow to those efforts. 

Blinken's calls with his regional counterparts focused on halting attacks by Hamas and securing the release of hostages, according to a US State Department readout of the calls.

Earlier on Sunday, Blinken said the US was working to verify reports that Americans had been killed or taken hostage by Hamas, saying, “We’ve got reports that several Americans are among the dead,” and was “working overtime to verify that.”

A National Security Council spokesman said Sunday that several US nationals have died since the start of Hamas' surprise attack. CNN reported an internal US government memo that said at least three US citizens have been killed. 

US President Joe Biden has ordered ships and warplanes to move closer to Israel in a show of support with Washington’s ally.

The US also promised to provide munitions and equipment to Israel, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement Sunday.