On his most recent tour of the Middle East, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped in Egypt on Tuesday to bring the Israel-Hamas conflict to "an enduring end" and establish a fresh truce.

The health ministry in the Hamas-ruled region that has been under bombardment for over four months said that heavy strikes and fighting in Gaza killed at least 99 persons overnight, the majority of whom being women and children.

As Israel's drive to destroy Hamas over the October 7 attack moves closer to the battlefront, concerns for the more than a million Palestinians crammed into the far southern Rafah area increased.

The military "will reach places where we have not yet fought... right up to the last Hamas bastion," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday which is Rafah", on the Egyptian border. 

One day after holding discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Blinken, who was on his sixth foreign journey since the start of the bloodiest-ever Gaza conflict, was scheduled to see Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Later, the senior US envoy was scheduled to visit Qatar and Israel in an attempt to garner support for a cease-fire agreement that was hammered out in Paris in January but has not yet been approved by Israel or Hamas.

With air and naval backing, Israeli forces have been fighting fierce urban battle centered on Khan Yunis, the main southern city of Gaza and home to Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza. Much of Khan Yunis has been destroyed.

Israel charges Sinwar of organizing the October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

About 250 captives were also taken by militants. According to Israel, 132 people are still in Gaza, 28 of them are thought to have died.

The health ministry reports that at least 27,585 individuals have died in Gaza as a result of Israel's waning military assault, the majority of them were women and children.

-'No place is safe' -

The military stated on Tuesday that "over the past day, dozens of terrorists have been killed and approximately 80 individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity have been apprehended, including a number of terrorists that took part in the October 7 massacre" .

It further stated that a navy vessel had fired missiles at a "terrorist cell" and that army snipers had killed over fifteen terrorists.

According to an AFP journalist, two airstrikes also hit Rafah, and midnight strikes shook Khan Yunis.

One Palestinian, Mohamad Kozaat, exclaimed, "No place is safe, no place at all -- where shall we go?" following the wounding of six members of his family, including his daughter, in an Israeli strike on the border town.

The United States has strongly backed its top regional ally Israel with munitions and diplomatic support, but also urged steps to reduce civilian casualties and to eventually move toward a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

The truce Blinken is hoping to seal proposes a six-week pause to fighting as Hamas frees hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and more aid enters Gaza, according to a Hamas source.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has faced divisions within his cabinet and public fury over the fate of the remaining hostages, said Israel "will not accept" demands Hamas has made for an exchange involving thousands of prisoners.

The premier's right-wing Likud party quoted him as saying the terms "should be similar to the previous agreement" in late November, which saw a more limited ratio of Palestinian prisoners exchanged for captives.

- Huthi attacks -

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a phone call also told Netanyahu on Monday that "only a negotiated two-state solution would open up the prospect of a sustainable solution to the Middle East conflict".

And French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, on his first visit to the region since taking office, urged the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks "without delay".

As the Gaza war has raged, violence has flared in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, where Iran-backed groups have launched attacks in support of Hamas, triggering counterattacks by Israel and the United States and its partners.

For weeks, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have been targeting what they say are Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in solidarity with Palestinians.

According to the US military, the attacks on the crucial maritime channel have hampered international trade and spurred US and British forces to retaliate, including strikes on two "explosive-laden drone boats" on Monday.
The Huthis claimed on Tuesday that they had launched two distinct strikes against US and British ships, one of which was verified by a security company.

"The first attack targeted the American ship Star Nasia, while the other targeted the British ship Morning Tide," stated Huthi spokesperson Yahya Saree.

Spokesman for the State Department Matthew Miller stated that Blinken discussed "regional coordination to achieve an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza" and "the urgent need to reduce regional tensions" with the Saudi crown prince.
Netanyahu said "a complete victory will deal a fatal blow" not just to Hamas but also to other Iran-backed militant groups across the region.

End//voice7news.tv