US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to meet Israeli leaders in his quest to prevent the Gaza conflict from growing into a regional conflagration, as Israel's military said its fight against Hamas would continue all year.
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Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv late on Monday to brief Israeli officials on his two days of talks with Arab leaders on ending the war, which was triggered by the October 7 Hamas attack that Israel says killed about 1,200 people.
The Israeli offensive in retaliation has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians, destroyed much of the tiny coastal enclave and displaced most of the population of 2.3 million, creating a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Blinken said he would press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government "on the absolute imperative to do more to protect civilians and to do more to make sure that humanitarian assistance is getting into the hands of those who need it".
In the latest sign that the war may be spreading, Israel killed a top commander of Hamas' ally Hezbollah in south Lebanon on Monday, sources familiar with the group's operations said.
Sources also told Reuters Israel is carrying out an unprecedented wave of deadly strikes in Syria targeting cargo trucks, infrastructure and weapons transport.
Israel has come under growing pressure from the United States, its closest ally, and Arab leaders to scale back the Gaza onslaught.
US President Joe Biden, confronted on Monday by protesters shouting "ceasefire now" while visiting South Carolina, said he had been working to encourage Israel to ease its attacks and "significantly get out of Gaza".
Israeli officials have said the operation is entering a new phase of more targeted warfare, but there was no respite in the fighting on Monday.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesman, said a "different mix of forces" was pursuing holdout Hamas fighters in the north as "intense operational activity" focused on central Gaza and around the southern city of Khan Younis.
"The fighting will continue through 2024," he said.
On Monday, Israeli forces bombarded the eastern part of Khan Younis and the central Gaza Strip amid ground clashes, residents said. Israel said four soldiers were killed in Gaza on Monday, bringing its total war losses there to 182.
Blinken flew to Tel Aviv after talks in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to try to chart a way out of the bloodiest chapter ever of the decades-long Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Saudi oasis town of Al Ula, Blinken said he still found support among Arab leaders for Israel's goal of normalising relations.
But that will "require that the conflict end in Gaza" and "a practical pathway to a Palestinian state," said Blinken, who held talks in Jordan and Qatar on Sunday.
Saudi state news agency SPA reported that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman underscored the need to ensure the Palestinian people's legitimate rights.
Jordan's King Abdullah said on Monday that "indiscriminate aggression" and shelling could never bring peace or security.
In remarks at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda, he said: "More children have died in Gaza than in all other conflicts around the world this past year. Of those who have survived, many have lost one or both parents, an entire generation of orphans."
Israel must allow displaced Palestinian civilians to return to their homes in Gaza, Blinken said in response to calls by right-wing members of Israel's ruling coalition for them to move elsewhere.
Israeli leaders will tell Blinken that they will not allow Palestinians from northern Gaza to return if Hamas refuses to free more of the Israeli hostages it seized on October 7, Axios reported, quoting two senior Israeli officials.
Nearly all of Gaza's residents have fled their homes at least once and many remain on the move, often sheltering in makeshift tents or under tarpaulins.
Australian Associated Press
