US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to meet Israeli leaders on Tuesday in his quest to prevent the Gaza conflict from growing into a regional conflagration, as the Israeli military said its fight against Hamas would continue all year.
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 Hamas militants' attack on October 7 that by Israeli tallies killed about 1,200 people.
He also 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".
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians, destroyed much of Gaza and displaced most of the population of 2.3 million, creating a worsening humanitarian crisis.
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.
"Handling tough battles in both the centre and south," Hagari said. "The fighting will continue through 2024."
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