Israel's military reported killing dozens of militants in the Gaza Strip on Monday, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the region to push for a new pause in fighting.
The Israel Defense Forces said its operations during the past day included airstrikes and ground battles in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, as well as raids in northern and central Gaza.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry said at least 128 people, mostly women and children, were killed in Israeli strikes overnight into Monday.
The United Nations said intense fighting in the Khan Younis area is pushing civilians farther south toward Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population has already taken refuge, many in makeshift shelters.
The United Nations estimates 75% of Gaza's people have fled their homes, and it says Palestinians are facing "acute shortages of food, water, shelter and medicine."
Gaza pause, hostage release
A proposed temporary cease-fire could bring an increase in humanitarian aid for Gaza, along with the release of hostages held by Hamas militants.
Hamas leaders have been considering the proposal for a week after it emerged from talks among Egyptian, Qatari and U.S. mediators.
"The ball right now is in Hamas' court," a senior U.S. State Department official told reporters. The official said Egypt and Qatar have pushed Hamas to accept what the U.S. described as a "strong, compelling proposal," but ultimately Hamas has to decide.
Watch related report by Veronica Balderas Iglesias:
Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday. His trip includes stops this week in Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Blinken held talks with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Monday.
"The Secretary and Crown Prince continued discussions on regional coordination to achieve an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza that provides lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike," according to a State Department statement.
"They discussed the importance of building a more integrated and prosperous region and reaffirmed the strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia," the State Department said.
A U.S. official said sensitive negotiations are expected during Blinken's meetings in the Middle East, where securing a humanitarian pause in Gaza is crucial for swiftly addressing key issues such as its reconstruction, Palestinian Authority reform, governance in Gaza, pursuing a two-state solution, and facilitating normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The Reuters news agency has reported that Saudi Arabia would be willing to accept a declarative political commitment from Israel to establish a Palestinian state rather than insisting on more concrete and binding steps, as part of its efforts to secure a defense pact with Washington amid U.S.-led diplomacy efforts to the Saudi-Israeli normalization.
On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna will lead an independent review of the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA. This announcement comes after Israel accused some UNRWA staff of taking part in the October 7 attack in southern Israel by Hamas militants.
More than a dozen countries have suspended funding of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency.
"The United States is pushing for an immediate and serious investigation into the allegations on UNRWA," State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said during a Monday briefing.
"From the U.S. perspective, we want to see concrete results for these approaches. And meanwhile, we're going to continue to consult closely with other donors on how to continue to meet urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza," Patel said.
He added that the U.S. is looking at other options for supporting civilians in Gaza through partners like the World Food Program, the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, and other nongovernmental organizations.
Dubbed a "pressure cooker of despair" by the United Nations, Rafah is overflowing with Palestinian refugees displaced due to Israel's military operation against Hamas.
The diplomatic push for reaching agreement on a new cease-fire in Gaza has become more urgent with a surge of new attacks in the Middle East. Three U.S. service members were killed at an outpost in Jordan, and the U.S. responded with dozens of strikes in Iraq and Syria targeting Iran-backed militants. The U.S. and Britain have jointly struck Houthi missile sites in Yemen.
The proposed Gaza truce would pause fighting for an initial six weeks as Hamas frees hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israel says 132 hostages remain in Gaza — including at least 28 believed to have died or been killed.
Hamas has said no agreement has yet been reached, while some Israeli officials have expressed opposition to any perceived concessions.
Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, which governs Gaza, after the militant group sent fighters rampaging into Israel in October, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies. Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., Britain, the European Union and others, also took about 240 people hostage, about 100 of whom were released in a weeklong cease-fire in late November.
Israel's air and ground military operations in Gaza have killed more than 27,300 Palestinians and injured 66,000 others, according to the Health Ministry. The ministry includes both civilians and militants in its count but says 70% of those killed were women and children.
Early last month, Israel agreed to allow a United Nations mission to evaluate the situation in war-ravaged northern Gaza, aiming to facilitate the return of displaced Palestinians as soon as conditions permit.
The first step of the U.N. mission to assess road conditions and the situation in northern Gaza has taken place with Israel's approval. However, intensified conflict and a resurgence of Hamas's activities in northern Gaza have halted further progress, according to a U.S. official.
VOA State Department bureau chief Nike Ching contributed to this report. Some information for this story came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
