Blinken on diplomacy push in Israel as it says war to continue all year

The Israeli offensive has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians, destroyed much of Gaza and displaced most of the population of 2.3 million, creating a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Flares rise over the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel. Picture: AP Photo/Leo Correa

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to meet Israeli leaders on Tuesday in his quest to prevent the Gaza conflict from growing into a regional conflagration, as the Israeli military said its fight against Hamas would continue all year.

Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv late on Monday to brief Israeli officials on his two days of talks with Arab leaders on ending the war, which was triggered by Hamas militants' attack on October 7 that by Israeli tallies killed about 1,200 people.