US Secretary of State John Kerry lands in Israel to pursue Gaza ceasefire

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to seek ways of ending the deadliest violence in years between Israel and Gaza's Islamist Hamas.

"Secretary Kerry arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, this morning to meet with officials to discuss the ongoing ceasefire efforts," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

"He will also travel to Jerusalem and the West Bank, and will be meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Palestinian Authority President (Mahmoud) Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu."

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Crispian Balmer)