As the US pressed the army for proof of Hamas operating from a Gaza media office tower block it flattened, Israel said it had killed a top Islamic Jihad fighter leader during a vicious war of airstrikes on Gaza.
Hassam Abu Harbid, the commander of Islamic Jihad's northern division, was killed by the Israeli military. He was accused of being behind many anti-tank missile attacks on Israeli civilians, including one that occurred at the start of the week of violence.
The killing was reported by Islamic Jihad sources to Reuters.
In the same wave of attacks, Israel reported having demolished nine miles of militant tunnels as well as the homes of nine suspected Hamas commanders.
However, the proportionality of some of the attacks has been questioned, with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken saying on Monday that he has not seen any Israeli evidence of Hamas operating in the Gaza office building that housed the media offices of the Associated Press and Al-Jazeera, which were hit by an earlier airstrike over the weekend.
An airstrike leveled the 14-story building shortly after Israel ordered its evacuation, causing international outrage and allegations that it was collective retaliation and a breach of international law.
Blinken claims that he has asked Israel for reasons for the attack and has asked all parties involved in the conflict to protect civilians and that the US is working hard to put an end to the bloodshed.
At a joint press conference with Denmark's foreign minister in Copenhagen, Blinken said, "We have been working around the clock across diplomatic channels to try to put an end to the conflict."
“The escalating violence continues to worry the United States. Hundreds of people have been killed or wounded, including children who have been rescued from the ruins, he said. “If the parties want a truce, we are ready to assist,” Blinken said.
According to the Gaza health ministry, at least 200 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 60 of them children, by Israeli airstrikes.
Intense rocket fire from Gaza has killed ten people in Israel, including two children and a soldier.
The airstrikes, Gaza's mayor Yahya Sarraj told Al Jazeera TV, had caused significant damage to roads and other facilities.
“We expect things to worsen if the aggression continues,” he said.
Several clinics and hostels were destroyed by indirect fire, two senior doctors were killed in their homes, and roads leading to Gaza's largest hospital were damaged, hampering medics' ability to respond to the wounded and save lives, according to medical officials and international medical charities.
Meanwhile, Gaza's only power plant is on the verge of running out of fuel.
Officials predict that within a day, there will be near-total blackouts across the entire strip, wreaking havoc on hospitals, houses, and water sources.
Despite the enormous toll on civilians, the fighting continued unabated.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's attacks were continuing "full-force" and would "take time" in a televised address on Sunday.
Israel "wishes to exact a high price" from Hamas militants.
The UN, Russia, Egypt, and Qatar have all contacted Hamas as part of cease-fire efforts, but the group "will not consider a solution that is not up to the sacrifices of the Palestinian people," according to Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh, who is based abroad.
