Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will have "overall security responsibility" in Gaza for an indefinite period after its war with Hamas, the clearest indication yet that Israel plans to maintain control over the coastal enclave that is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.
He ruled out any general ceasefire without the release of all the hostages, but expressed openness to "little pauses" in the fighting to facilitate the release of some of the more than 240 captives seized by Hamas on 7 October when it carried out a surprise air, ground and sea incursion in southern Israel.
The White House said there was no agreement with US President Joe Biden's call for a broader humanitarian pause after a phone call between the leaders on Monday.
Israel's month-long indiscriminate bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed more than 10,000 people, over 4,000 of whom are children. More than 2,300 people are missing and believed to be buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, the besieged Palestinian enclave's health ministry has said.
Airstrikes have levelled entire city blocks across the territory, and around 70% of the population has fled their homes, with many fleeing to the southern part of the besieged territory following Israeli warnings. Despite this, the south of the strip is also being bombed by Israeli jets.
Food, medicine, fuel and water are running dangerously low, and United Nations-run schools-turned-shelters are overflowing. Hospitals and their surroundings have been bombed by Israel multiple times.
For over a week now, Israeli troops have been battling Hamas inside the enclave and have managed to cut the territory in half and encircled Gaza City.
Tensions also continue on the Israeli-Lebanese border, where the Israeli army has traded cross-border fire since 7 October with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.