Palestinians must not be pressured into leaving Gaza, Anthony Blinken said, as he condemned calls from some Israeli ministers for resettlement as “irresponsible.”

“Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow,” the US Secretary of State said. “They cannot, they must not be pressed to leave Gaza.”

His comments come amid rifts in the Israeli government over plans for post-war Gaza.

Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister, has said that most Israelis support a “humanitarian solution” involving the “voluntary migration of Gaza’s Arabs and their absorption in other countries”.

Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, said that resettling Palestinians out of Gaza is “absolutely not” the official position of the country’s government or the Israeli public.

But he added: “In a society where free speech is the basis of our national DNA, people can say whatever they want.”

Mr Blinken was set to visit the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Monday for talks on the war before heading on to Israel. He has warned that the war in Gaza could yet spread across the region without concerted peace efforts.

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