GAZA/TEL AVIV/CAIRO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel on Tuesday to make "hard choices" to normalize relations with more of its neighbours, a new appeal to smooth the path to creating a Palestinian state.
Blinken, in his fourth visit to the Middle East since the war erupted in October, also urged Israel to support Palestinian leaders willing to live peacefully alongside Israelis and warned the daily toll in its war with Hamas in Gaza was far too high.
It was also vital that Israel achieve its objective of eradicating the threat from Hamas, he said at the end of a day of talks in Tel Aviv. This followed his tour of Israel's Arab neighbours to discuss plans for the future governance of Gaza and integration in the Middle East.
Even as he spoke, intense fighting gripped south and central parts of Gaza. Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants also exchanged fire on the Lebanon-Israel border.
International concern has mounted over the huge Palestinian death toll from the Israeli assault on the densely populated enclave and a humanitarian crisis afflicting hundreds of thousands of people.
The Israeli air and ground assault, prompted by a cross-border Hamas rampage into southern Israel on Oct. 7, has now killed 23,210 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, and obliterated large areas from north to south.
The U.S. and other countries are also anxious to prevent the war from spreading through the Middle East.
Meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a military base in Tel Aviv, Blinken stressed "the importance of avoiding further civilian harm and protecting civilian infrastructure in Gaza", a State Department spokesperson said.
Blinken repeated the Biden administration's support for Israel's right to defend itself and to prevent a repeat of the lightning Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that rules Gaza and is sworn to Israel's destruction.
Addressing a press conference after his meetings, Blinken said the daily toll of the war on civilians in Gaza was far too high - though he added that charges that Israel was committing genocide were "meritless".
He also said Palestinians displaced by the war must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow. The U.S. has rejected proposals from some on the far right in Israel that Palestinians be resettled outside Gaza.
Israel Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told Blinken the offensive in Gaza's southern Khan Younis area will "intensify and continue until Hamas leadership is detected and Israeli hostages return home safely," the defence ministry said.
Photo from Reuters
