Antony Blinken, Netanyahu Shelter in Bunker as Air Raid Sirens Sound During Tel Aviv War Meeting

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Israeli war cabinet were forced to shelter in a bunker for several minutes on Monday, as air raid sirens went off around Tel Aviv.

Blinken, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials sheltered for five minutes, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller told The Messenger.

Sirens could be heard in videos posted on social media, which showed people rushing towards bomb shelters.

The alarms sounded as Hamas launched a "missile barrage" in response to the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, where an estimated 2,570 have died through the campaign over the past 10 days.

The terrorists fired on Tel Aviv and several other cities, including Jerusalem, where parliament members were forced to evacuate in the middle of their proceedings.

Blinken had returned to Israel for a second time in a week on Monday to meet with top Israeli officials as he worked to open a humanitarian corridor to Gaza and sought to brief Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his meetings with Arab leaders.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled northern Gaza over the weekend as Israel warned civilians ahead of a ground invasion and amid reports Hamas militants blocked some from leaving.

“Hamas does not care if Palestinians suffer,” Blinken said on social media. 

Still, even with President Joe Biden's strong support for Israel in the wake of the surprise Hamas attack that left 1,400 Israelis dead, American officials have grown worried over the possibility of a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza as food, fuel and water run out and Israel compiles tanks at the border.

Blinken met with a half dozen regional leaders who voiced the need to protect civilians after his trip to Israel on Thursday.

“Over the past few days, I’ve traveled to Israel, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt,” Blinken wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. ”What I’ve heard from every partner is a shared view to prevent the conflict from spreading, to safeguard innocent lives, and to get assistance to those in Gaza who need it.”

"We’re putting in place with the United Nations, with Egypt, with Israel, with others, a mechanism by which to get assistance in and to get [aid] to people who need it," Blinken said Sunday. 

American officials have been trying to negotiate the formation of safe zones where Gaza civilians can receive aid without fear for their safety. If established, a humanitarian corridor could also give foreigners trapped in Gaza an escape route, including an estimated 500 to 600 Palestinian-Americans.