U.S. and Israeli officials have agreed to work on developing a plan to get humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and setting up “safe zones,” a senior State Department official told reporters early Tuesday on the plane of Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

David Satterfield will start talking to Israeli officials about this in his new role as the special envoy for humanitarian assistance in this war. And U.S. officials hope plans will be enacted before Israel starts its ground invasion, said the official, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity to speak openly about sensitive diplomatic discussions.

Blinken spoke with President Joe Biden after meeting with the president of Egypt in Cairo on Sunday and told Biden that all the Arab leaders with whom he had met since Thursday called for Israel to allow humanitarian aid to get to Gaza, the official said. Biden then told Blinken to go to Israel to negotiate with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Blinken flew into Israel on Monday, and he spent most of a total of nine hours of talks involving Netanyahu focused on aid for Gaza. The talks ended at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. Once aid enters Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the crossing will open, and U.S. citizens and perhaps other foreigners would be able to leave Gaza, the official said.

U.S. officials say they hope Israel will refrain from bombing the Rafah crossing area.

The New York Times New Service