The Palestinian Health Ministry says 249 people were killed and 510 injured in the Israeli attack on Gaza in 24 hours.
US officials have reiterated their calls for Israel to slow its attack on Gaza as the besieged Palestinian territory’s Health Ministry reports hundreds more deaths.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting the Middle East amid growing concerns that Israel’s war on Gaza could turn into a regional conflagration. He arrived in Israel Monday evening after a day meeting with Gulf Arab leaders.
Israeli officials said they were entering a new, more targeted phase of war after massive bombings that ravaged the Gaza Strip and killed more than 23,000 people, according to Palestinian authorities.
Blinken held talks in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Monday to try to find a way out of the conflict.
Saudi state news agency SPA reported that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) stressed the importance of ceasing hostilities in Gaza and paving the way for peace.
SPA said MBS stressed the need to restore stability and ensure that the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights.
Blinken said he would tell Israeli officials at their later meeting that they must do more to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza and must allow Palestinians to return home after several calls from right-wing Israeli officials to of the movement of Palestinians out of Gaza.
He announced that Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates would consider participating and contributing to the “day after” scenarios for Gaza.
“We agreed to work together and coordinate our efforts to help Gaza stabilize and recover, to chart a political path for Palestinians to work toward peace, security and stability. long term in the region as a whole,” he told reporters.
Without giving details, he said the countries had agreed to use their clout and clout in the region to prevent the war from spreading to neighboring countries.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also attended the meeting in Saudi Arabia.
In the United States, President Joe Biden was interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire while giving a speech in Charleston, South Carolina.
“I understand their passion, and I have worked quietly, quietly with the Israeli government to get them to significantly reduce and leave Gaza,” Biden said.
“New phase of war”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced Monday that the war in Gaza would move away from the “intense maneuver phase of war” toward “different types of special operations.”
Gallant told the Wall Street Journal that the next phase would last “longer.”
“We are close to the next phase in the north, including Gaza City. … It will take time, but we are not going to give up.”
At least 23,084 people were killed and 58,926 injured in the Israeli attack on Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
At least 249 people were killed in the past 24 hours and 510 injured, the ministry said on Monday.