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RAMALLAH, Occupied Palestine — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Gazans "must not be forcibly displaced", speaking on a surprise visit on Sunday to the Israeli-occupied West Bank to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

In Gaza nearly 9,800 people, also mostly civilians, have died in Israel's land, air and sea attack, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

"The secretary reaffirmed the United States' commitment to the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance and resumption of essential services in Gaza and made clear that Palestinians must not be forcibly displaced," said a summary of the meeting released by the US State Department.

Abbas condemned what he labelled a "genocide" unfolding in the Gaza Strip, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

"I have no words to describe the genocide and destruction suffered by our Palestinian people in Gaza at the hands of Israel's war machine, with no regard for the principles of international law," Abbas was quoted as saying to Blinken.

Blinken flew into Tel Aviv on Sunday morning and travelled in a high-security convoy to the Ramallah headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, the body which, he recently said, should replace the Hamas government in Gaza.

Violence in West Bank 

But Abbas said the Palestinian Authority could only take power if a "comprehensive political solution" is found for the Palestinian-Israel conflict encompassing the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, according to Wafa.

Hamas took over the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority in 2007, after being blocked from exercising real power despite winning a parliamentary election the previous year.

The US Secretary of State is the second high-ranking Western visitor to the West Bank since the war started, following French President Emmanuel Macron.

The unannounced trip came amid sharply rising violence in the West Bank since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

Blinken and Abbas “discussed efforts to restore calm and stability in the West Bank, including the need to stop extremist violence against Palestinians and hold those accountable responsible”, said the State Department.

The US “remains committed to advancing equal measures of dignity and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike”, it added.

More than 150 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops and Jewish settlers since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian Authority.

Four were killed on Sunday in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry and the Israeli army.

Blinken’s meeting with Abbas, whose secular Fateh Party is Hamas’s rival, came at a time Washington has heaped political and military support on its ally Israel.

Blinken has urged “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza on his latest tour of the Middle East, to protect civilians and ease aid deliveries to the densely populated territory.

The United States has also advocated for a two-state solution as the only path out of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

BEIRUT — Four rescue workers were injured on Sunday in an Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon that hit two ambulances, according to the association that owned the vehicles and state media.

The border area between the two countries has been host to multiple exchanges of fire, in particular between Iran-backed group Hizbollah and Israel, since the start..

Lebanon's National News Agency said the latest Israeli strike targeted two ambulances belonging to the Risala Scout association, which operates rescue teams and is affiliated with the Shiite Amal movement, a Hizbollah ally.

The association said "a drone from the Israeli occupation forces deliberately targeted... the two vehicles, causing moderate injuries to four paramedics".

It said the attack took place at dawn when the two ambulances were called to evacuate wounded in the village of Tayr Harfa, some three kilometres from the Israeli border.

Since October 7, at least 76 people have been killed on the Lebanese side in cross-border skirmishes, according to an AFP tally, including 58 Hizbollah fighters.

Six soldiers and one civilian have been killed on the Israeli side.

Hizbollah said on Sunday that two more of its fighters had been killed that morning.

Rising tensions on the Israeli-Lebanese border have raised concerns that the war could spill over into a wider conflagration.

In his first speech since fighting erupted between Israel and Hamas, Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday accused the United States of being "entirely responsible" for the war.

He also warned Israel against the "folly" of an attack on Lebanon, adding that halting its "aggression against Gaza" would prevent a regional conflict.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — The Israeli military and powerful Lebanese movement Hizbollah engaged in cross-border clashes on Saturday, with both claiming to have hit each other's positions along the frontier.

The latest skirmishes came a day after Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned that the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip could turn into a regional conflict if Israel pushed on with its offensive in the Palestinian territory.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had struck "two terrorist cells" and a Hizbollah post after an attempted attack from Lebanon.

Hizbollah said it had simultaneously attacked five Israeli positions along the border.

Hours later it announced a new attack on the Al Abbad Israeli position without specifying what kind of weapon was used.

Hizbollah chief blames US 

The Lebanon-Israel border has seen regular cross-border shelling over the past month, with firing between the Israeli military on one side and the powerful Hizbollah and its allies on the other.

In his first speech since the Israel-Hamas war broke out four weeks ago, Nasrallah warned on Friday that "all options" were open for an expansion of the conflict to Lebanon as he blamed the United States for the war in Gaza.

"America is entirely responsible for the ongoing war on Gaza and its people, and Israel is simply a tool of execution," Nasrallah said in a televised broadcast, calling the conflict "decisive".

"Whoever wants to prevent a regional war, and this is addressed to the Americans, must quickly stop the aggression on Gaza," he said.

ISTANBUL — Turkey said on Saturday it was recalling its ambassador to Israel and breaking off contacts with the Israeli occupation's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in protest at the bloodshed in Gaza.

Palestinian ally Turkey had been gradually mending its torn relations with Israel until last month's start of Israel's war on Gaza.

The Turkish foreign ministry said Ambassador Sakir Ozkan Torunlar was being recalled for consultations "in view of the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Gaza caused by the continuing attacks by Israel against civilians, and Israel's refusal [to accept] a ceasefire".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan separately told reporters that he held Netanyahu personally responsible for the growing civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip.

"Netanyahu is no longer someone we can talk to. We have written him off," Turkish media quoted Erdogan as saying.

Israel had earlier withdrawn all diplomats from Turkey and other regional countries as a security precaution.

The Israeli foreign ministry said last weekend it was “reevaluating” its relations with Ankara because of Turkey’s increasingly heated rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war.

Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey was not fully breaking off diplomatic relations with Israel.

“Completely severing ties is not possible, especially in international diplomacy,” Erdogan said.

He said MIT intelligence agency chief Ibrahim Kalin was spearheading Turkey’s efforts to try and mediate an end to the war.

“Ibrahim Kalin is talking to the Israeli side. Of course, he is also negotiating with Palestine and Hamas,” Erdogan said.

But he said Netanyahu bore the primary responsibility for the violence and had “lost the support of his own citizens”.

“What he needs to do is take a step back and stop this,” Erdogan said.

The Turkish leader had taken a more cautious tone in the first days of the war.

But he led a massive rally in Istanbul last weekend during which he accused the Israel government of behaving like a “war criminal” and trying to “eradicate” Palestinians.

RAFAH, Palestinian Territories — Israeli ground troops fighting to destroy Hamas had surrounded Gaza City on Friday as top US diplomat Antony Blinken arrived in Israel for a trip focused on "concrete steps" to minimise Palestinian civilian casualties.

Separately, Israel began expelling thousands of Palestinian workers back to Gaza, despite ongoing fighting and air strikes that have killed thousands of civilians in the territory.

And in Geneva, the United Nations launched an emergency aid appeal seeking $1.2 billion to help some 2.7 million people facing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank.

The leader of Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, was to make a speech later in the day, breaking with weeks of silence, amid concerns of a broader regional conflagration.

Ahead of Blinken's arrival, Israeli forces said it had "completed the encirclement" of Gaza's largest city -- signalling a new phase in the nearly month-long conflict.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says more than 9,000 people have died in Israeli bombardments, mostly women and children.

After the Hamas assault, Israeli forces moved to re-establish security on the border, trapping thousands of Palestinian workers inside Israel.

On Friday, officials began to force them back into Gaza, AFP journalists at the Karem Abu Salem crossing saw.

"Thousands of workers who were blocked in Israel since October 7 have been brought back," Hisham Adwan, head of Gaza's crossings authority, told AFP.

Workers expelled 

Israel said late on Thursday it would start sending the workers back to Gaza.

"Israel is severing all contact with Gaza. There will be no more Palestinian workers from Gaza," the Israeli security Cabinet said in a statement.

The United Nations Human Rights Office said it was "deeply concerned" about the expulsions.

"They are being sent back, we don't know exactly to where," and whether they "even have a home to go to", spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell told a news conference in Geneva.

Before the war started, some 18,500 Gazans were holding Israeli work permits, according to figures provided by COGAT, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs. COGAT would not immediately say how many of those Gazans were working inside Israel on October 7.

New Israeli strikes rocked the Gaza Strip on Friday morning, an AFP correspondent said, and the Gaza health ministry reported at least 15 deaths in Gaza City's Zeitun neighbourhood and seven in Jabalia refugee camp.

The Hamas government has said 195 people were killed in Israeli bombardments on Jabalia earlier this week, with hundreds more missing and wounded, figures AFP could not independently verify.

Before his departure, Blinken said he would seek to ensure that harm to Palestinian civilians is reduced, in a visible shift of tone for the United States which has promised full support and ramped-up military aid to Israel.

"We will be talking about concrete steps that can and should be taken to minimise harm to men, women and children in Gaza," Blinken said.

"This is something that the United States is committed to."

Although many of the city's half-a-million residents fled south following Israel's warning to leave ahead of a ground operation, those who stayed behind have endured weeks of aerial bombardment, dwindling supplies and daily carnage.

'Curse of history' 

But yet more mayhem seems to lie ahead, as the conflict turns to urban and underground warfare -- with Hamas fighting from a tunnel complex believed to span hundreds of kilometres .

The Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, insisted Israeli soldiers would go home "in black bags".

"Gaza will be the curse of history for Israel," spokesman Abu Obeida said.

A group of UN-mandated human rights experts -- who do not speak for the United Nations -- warned Thursday that "time is running out to prevent genocide and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza".

On Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the cost of meeting the needs of the 2,7 million people living in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank had risen to $1.2 billion, and launched an appeal for donors.

US President Joe Biden has backed "temporary, localised" pauses in fighting to allow humanitarian work to be done.

Escape to safety 

Countries around the world recalled their ambassadors from Israel in protest at the strikes. Bolivia severed diplomatic ties.

On Thursday some 400 more foreigners and dual nationals managed to escape the war to Egypt, along with 60 wounded Palestinians.

Egypt has said it would help evacuate 7,000 foreigners through Rafah, which was to open again on Friday, a source at the crossing told AFP.

The UN said more than 100 trucks with aid crossed into Gaza on Thursday, a significant increase from previous days.

A total of 374 trucks have entered since a US-brokered deal was enacted on October 21, far short of what aid agencies say is needed.

RAFAH, Occupied Palestine — Hundreds more foreigners and dual nationals fled war-torn Gaza for Egypt on Thursday as Israeli forces bombarded and fought ground battles in the besieged Palestinian territory, where thousands have died.

Egypt said it eventually plans to help evacuate 7,000 foreigners through the Rafah crossing and a spokesman for the Palestinian side of the border post said about 100 had been able to leave on Thursday.

A total of 400 foreign passport holders as well as 60 severely wounded Palestinians in ambulances were due to cross by the end of the second day of departures, Wael Abu Mohsen said, and Egyptian officials later reported the first arrivals.

A list of those approved to travel on Thursday shows hundreds of US citizens and 50 Belgians along with smaller numbers from various European, Arab, Asian and African countries.

"There was no food, no water, no gas, nowhere to take shelter," said US passport holder Salma Shaath, 14, as she prepared to cross. "People were going to hospitals to sleep, there are a lot of martyrs, there is no internet, no communications and no electricity

"Our house was bombed and our situation was difficult, so we came here to Rafah, and now we're planning to travel."

The evacuation marks a tiny proportion of the 2.4 million people trapped in Gaza under weeks bombardment since Hamas launched their surprise attack into Israel on October 7.

Ground battles flared again overnight in northern Gaza as Israeli forces have sought to destroy Hamas.

The Gaza health ministry says more than 9,000 people have died, mostly women and children.

Special concern has focused on repeated heavy strikes on Gaza’s largest refugee camp, densely populated Jabalia, north of Gaza City, where explosions brought down residential buildings.

Gaza’s Hamas-ruled government said 195 were killed in two days of Israeli strikes on Jabalia, with hundreds more missing and wounded. Hamas said seven of the estimated 242 hostages it is holding, died in Tuesday’s bombings.

Major strikes also hit Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp and an area near a UN-run school, where the health ministry said 27 had died.

Outside the Al Quds hospital in Gaza City, displaced residents seeking shelter from Israeli strikes told AFP that civilians would not withstand the barrage much longer.

“This is not a life. We need a safe place for our kids,” said 50-year-old Hiyam Shamlakh. “Everybody is terrified, children, women and the elderly.”

Talal Shamlakh, 65, said: “There have been missiles since 7:00am around the hospital and we couldn’t sleep while children are screaming.”

Another Gazan, Mahmoud Abu Jarad, said civilians would not be able to tolerate another week of strikes. “We demand a ceasefire. This is the most important thing,” the 30-year-old said.

 ‘Death every day’ 

Israel has sought to justify the first Jabalia attack by saying it had targeted a senior Hamas commander in a tunnel complex below the camp.

AFP has witnessed rescuers desperately clawing through the rubble and twisted metal in frantic attempts to bring out survivors and bodies.

Emergency responders say “whole families” have died.

The wounded were rushed away by cart, motorcycle and ambulance as anguished wails and blaring sirens filled the dusty air.

But Gaza’s hospitals have been overwhelmed and run short of medical supplies and even electricity.

Tensions and violence have also spread in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where more than 130 Palestinians have died since October 7 according to the Palestinian health ministry.

In embattled Gaza, more than 20,000 people are wounded, according to aid group Doctors Without Borders.

While the United States and other Western powers have largely backed Israel, anger has flared across the Arab and Muslim world.

The United States and several Western countries back Israel in ruling out a ceasefire for now, arguing that it must have the right to defend itself against Hamas.