At least 9,061 people have been killed in Gaza, Palestinian fighters use tunnels to ambush Israeli forces
\nGAZA
\nIsrael claimed its forces had surrounded Gaza City as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived again in Tel Aviv to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
\nThe United States was set to press Netanyahu to agree to pauses in fighting to allow aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave.
\nGaza health authorities say at least 9,061 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its brutal assault on the enclave of 2.3 million people in retaliation for attacks by Hamas fighters on southern Israel.
\nWith the conflict nearing the end of its fourth week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel for the second time in a month to meet Netanyahu as Israel\u2019s military battled Hamas fighters, who fought back with hit-and-run attacks from underground tunnels.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re at the height of the battle. We\u2019ve had impressive successes and have passed the outskirts of Gaza City. We are advancing,\u201d Netanyahu said in a statement after the military said it had encircled the seaside enclave\u2019s main city.
\nAs Blinken left Washington for the Middle East, he said he would discuss concrete steps to minimise harm to civilians in Gaza. The White House, meanwhile, said any pauses in fighting should be temporary and localised, and insisted they would not stop Israel defending itself.
\nMounting casualties among Palestinian civilians, along with acute shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel, have intensified calls by global leaders for a pause in fighting or a ceasefire.
\nIsrael has dismissed those calls, saying it targets Hamas fighters whom it accuses of intentionally hiding among the population and civilian buildings. The White House has also rejected calls for a ceasefire.
\nA group of independent United Nations experts warned that Palestinians in Gaza are at \u201cgrave risk of genocide\u201d.
\n\u201cWe call on Israel and its allies to agree to an immediate ceasefire. We are running out of time,\u201d the group of UN special rapporteurs said in a statement.
\nThe Israeli mission to the UN in Geneva called the rapporteur\u2019s comments \u201cdeplorable and deeply concerning\u201d and blamed Hamas for the civilian deaths. St\u00e9phane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said a determination of genocide could only be made by a relevant UN judicial body.
\nThe White House said on Thursday it was looking into a series of pauses in the conflict.
\n\u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do is explore the idea of as many pauses as might be necessary to continue to get aid out and to continue to work to get people out safely, including hostages,\u201d US national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
\nBlinken also was due to meet Jordan\u2019s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman on Saturday. In a statement, Safadi said Israel must end the war on Gaza, where he said it was committing war crimes by bombing civilians and imposing a siege.
\nGulf Arab power, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), warned on Friday that tension in the Middle East was \u201capproaching a boiling point\u201d and that it was working \u201crelentlessly\u201d to reach an immediate and full humanitarian ceasefire.
\n\u201cThe risk of regional spillover and further escalation is real, as well as the risk that extremist groups will take advantage of the situation to advance ideologies that will keep us locked in cycles of violence,\u201d Noura al-Kaabi, a minister of state for foreign affairs, told a conference in Abu Dhabi.
\nHamas fighters emerge from tunnels
\nAmid heavy explosions in Gaza, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters his country\u2019s \u201ctroops completed the encirclement of Gaza City, which is the focal point of the Hamas terror organization\u201d.
\nBrigadier General Iddo Mizrahi, chief of Israel\u2019s military engineers, said troops were encountering mines and booby traps.
\n\u201cHamas has learned and prepared itself well,\u201d he said.
\nAbu Ubaida, spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, said in a televised speech on Thursday that Israel\u2019s death toll in Gaza was much higher than the military had announced. \u201cYour soldiers will return in black bags,\u201d he said.
\nIsrael has said it has lost 18 soldiers and claimed its forces killed dozens of Palestinian fighters since ground operations expanded last Friday.
\nHamas and allied Islamic Jihad fighters were emerging from tunnels to fire at tanks, then disappearing back into the network, residents said and videos from both groups showed.
\nTwo US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the US was flying intelligence-gathering drones over Gaza to help locate hostages. One of the officials said they had been carrying out the drone flights for over a week.
\nMore foreigners due to evacuate
\nThe Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt was due to open for a third day on Friday for limited evacuations under a Qatari-brokered deal aimed at letting some foreign passport holders, their dependents and some wounded Gazans out of the enclave.
\nAccording to border officials, more than 700 foreign citizens left for Egypt via Rafah on the two previous days. Dozens of critically injured Palestinians were to cross too. Israel asked foreign countries to send hospital ships for them.
\nThailand said it is in touch with Iran and other governments that can make contact with Hamas for the safe release of nearly two dozen Thai nationals being held hostage.
\nThailand\u2019s Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said on Friday that Iran, which is close to Hamas, had promised to help with negotiations.
\nOver a third of Gaza\u2019s 35 hospitals are not functioning, with many turned into impromptu refugee camps.
\n\u201cThe situation is beyond catastrophic,\u201d said the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, describing packed corridors and many medics who were themselves bereaved and homeless.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At least 9,061 people have been killed in Gaza, Palestinian fighters use tunnels to ambush Israeli forces GAZA Israel claimed its forces had surrounded Gaza City as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived again in Tel Aviv to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The United States was set to press Netanyahu to agree to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365950,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-365914","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n