U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Kibbutz Be'eri and the Kerem Shalom crossing during his visit to the Gaza border region this week, becoming the first senior U.S. government official to visit the area since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, Ynet learned on Sunday.
At Blinken's request, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will accompany him on the tour, and Foreign Minister Israel Katz will also join.
The secretary of state will arrive in Israel as part of a Middle East tour including a visit to Saudi Arabia. Blinken had previously planned to visit Kerem Shalom during an earlier trip to Israel but canceled due to planned protests against him.
During the October 7 attack, over 100 terrorists infiltrated Kibbutz Be'eri. More than 100 kibbutz members were killed, and dozens of soldiers and police officers fell in battles on its grounds.
In addition, 32 kibbutz members were abducted to the Gaza Strip. Some of them were released in the first deal with Hamas in November. A month after the massacre, the kibbutz announced that its members would temporarily relocate to Kibbutz Hatzerim.