US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara following a tour of the Middle East focused on the Israel-Hamas war.

Blinken's first visit to Turkey since Israel went to war in reprisal for the militants' October 7 attack did not include a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was travelling in Turkey's northeast, reports AFP.

Meanwhile, Antony Blinken in his surprise West Bank visit met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday.

He told Mahmud Abbas that Palestinians in Gaza "must not be forcibly displaced", a State Department spokesman said.

Blinken met with Abbas in Ramallah as he made a surprise high-security visit to the West Bank as violence surges in the occupied territory in tandem with the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the pair also discussed "the need to stop extremist violence against Palestinians" in the West Bank.