The Palestinian Health Ministry says 249 people were killed and 510 injured in the 24-hour Israeli attack on Gaza.
US officials have reiterated calls for Israel to ease its attack on Gaza as the Health Ministry in the besieged Palestinian territory reports hundreds more deaths.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting the Middle East amid growing alarm that Israel’s war on Gaza could become a regional conflagration. He arrived in Israel late Monday after a day of meeting with Gulf Arab leaders.
Israeli officials have said they are entering a new phase of more targeted warfare after massive bombings that devastated the Gaza Strip and killed more than 23,000 people, according to Palestinian authorities.
Blinken held talks on Monday in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to try to chart 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 charting a path to peace.
SPA said MBS emphasized the need to restore stability and ensure that the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights.
Blinken said he would tell Israeli officials at their subsequent meeting that they must do more to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza and that they must allow Palestinians to return to their homes after several calls from right-wing Israeli officials for the displacement of Palestinians outside. from 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 agree to work together and coordinate our efforts to help Gaza stabilize and recover, to chart a political path forward for Palestinians to work towards long-term peace, security and stability in the region as a whole.” , he told reporters.
While he did not offer details, he said the countries had agreed to use their influence in the region to prevent the war from spreading to neighboring countries.
The European Union’s 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 been working quietly, working quietly with the Israeli government to get them to significantly reduce and exit Gaza,” Biden said.
‘New phase of the war’
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced Monday that the war in Gaza would move from the “intense maneuver phase of the war” to “different types of special operations.”
Gallant told The Wall Street Journal that the next phase will last “longer.”
“We are close to the next phase in the north, including Gaza City. … It will take some time, but we are not going to give up.”
At least 23,084 people have been killed and 58,926 injured in Israel’s attack on Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
At least 249 people were killed in the last 24-hour period and 510 were injured, the ministry said Monday.
