US urges Israel to take additional steps to protect humanitarian workers in Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday emphasized to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant the need to take additional steps to protect humanitarian workers in the Gaza Strip.

During a meeting in Washington D.C., Blinken and Gallant discussed ongoing efforts to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza that secures the release of all hostages and alleviates the suffering of the Palestinian people, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Blinken updated Gallant on ongoing diplomatic efforts to advance security, governance and reconstruction in Gaza during a post-conflict period and emphasized the importance of that work to Israel's security, Miller added.

"He also underscored the importance of avoiding further escalation of the conflict and reaching a diplomatic resolution that allows both Israeli and Lebanese families to return to their homes," he said.

Gallant is currently visiting the US for talks with American officials on the Gaza conflict.

Separately, he held talks on Monday with US envoy Amos Hochstein to discuss moving to “Phase C” of Israel's ongoing war on Gaza.

The third phase under the Israeli definition includes low-intensity fighting in Gaza, targeted airstrikes, the withdrawal of forces, the establishment of a buffer zone near Gaza's border and finding an alternative to Hamas's rule in the enclave.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack last year by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

More than 37,600 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 86,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

More than eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.