CNN  — 

US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in the early hours of Tuesday from Tel Aviv.

Biden had been deliberating whether to make a wartime visit to Israel, a trip fraught with risk that could stand as a dramatic show of support for a top US ally while sending a warning to other countries in the region against escalation.

Aides said the president has expressed a strong interest in making the journey after being invited over the weekend by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Biden has known for four decades.

The risks of a presidential visit to Israel are not small. On Monday, as Blinken met with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, air sirens blared, forcing the two men to shelter in place.

The United States and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza,” Blinken said, adding that the president during the trip “will hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hamas.”

“It is critical that aid begin flowing into Gaza as soon as possible,” Blinken said, speaking from a US diplomatic building in Tel Aviv.

The top US diplomat noted that the US shares “Israel’s concern that Hamas may seize or destroy entering Gaza or otherwise preventing it from reaching the people who need it.”

“If Hamas in any way blocks humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians, including by seizing the aid itself, we’ll be the first to condemn it. And we will work to prevent it from happening again,” he said.

Blinken said the agreement to work on the plan was done at the US’ request, and they “welcome the government of Israel’s commitment to work on this plan.”

“The president very much looks forward to discussing it further when he’s here on Wednesday,” he said.

This story is breaking and will be updated.