GAZA/JERUSALEM/CAIRO/AMMAN/RAMALLAH - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and voiced the US opposition to the Israeli plan to launch a large-scale ground assault on Rafah.

The US top diplomat insisted that the Israeli side should first provide an appropriate humanitarian plan for more than 1.2 million displaced Palestinians in Gaza's southernmost city before mounting an attack, according to a statement from the US State Department.

READ MORE: Israeli PM vows ground attack on Rafah ‘with or without’ deal

Blinken also stressed the urgent need to increase the aid for the Gaza Strip and called for reaching a deal between Israel and Hamas to put a halt to the months-long conflict.

Netanyahu told Blinken that Israel would not agree to a deal that would force an end to its operation against Hamas in Gaza, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office

He also discussed with Netanyahu "the need to avoid further expansion of the conflict and updated the prime minister on ongoing efforts to ensure a lasting, sustainable peace in the region," according to the statement.

For his part, Netanyahu told Blinken that Israel would not agree to a deal that would force an end to its operation against Hamas in Gaza, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.

Talks in Cairo between the two conflicting parties indicated some progress, but significant disagreements remain, particularly on whether a deal would pause or completely end the military operations in Gaza.

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Before meeting with Israeli President Issac Herzog in Tel Aviv, Blinken, speaking to reporters, attributed any potential failure in reaching an agreement to Hamas.

Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, after visiting Saudi Arabia and Jordan, on his seventh trip to the region since the beginning of the Gaza conflict on Oct 7, 2023.  

Hamas 'to stop truce talks' if Israel attacks Rafah

The Palestinian Islamic Movement (Hamas) said on Wednesday that the ceasefire negotiations with Israel would be suspended if Israel attacks the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Accusing Israel of seeking "to blackmail all the parties by its threats of attacking Rafah", the Hamas official stressed that "the resistance is still having its power to defend our people"

Osama Hamdan, a senior official of Hamas, said in an interview with Lebanon-based al-Manar TV that Hamas would halt all indirect negotiations with Israel if it launches military operations against Rafah.

READ MORE: UN chief calls for Israel-Hamas accord, probe of mass graves in Gaza

Accusing Israel of seeking "to blackmail all the parties by its threats of attacking Rafah", the Hamas official stressed that "the resistance is still having its power to defend our people".

Hamdan noted that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, maintained contact with the political faction of Hamas, and were informed about the ongoing situation on the ground.

Netanyahu has said that Israel will enter Rafah and eliminate the Hamas battalions there "with or without" a deal with Hamas.

Meanwhile in Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met the visiting French counterpart Stephane Sejourne to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip.

Shoukry said that Egypt has put forward "implementable" truce proposals to both parties, who are expected to show "necessary flexibility" to realize an agreement that would spare Palestinians bloodshed.

Sejourne highlighted France's efforts to contain escalation between Israel and Lebanon on their borders, stressing that the potential truce in Gaza has to be accompanied by a similar truce in Lebanon, according to the ministry's statement.

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Shoukry and Sejourne reaffirmed their absolute rejection of any Israeli attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause by displacing Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip.

According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, the Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 34,568.

The ministry on Wednesday said during the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 33 Palestinians and wounded 57 others, bringing the total death toll since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict to 34,568 and injuries to 77,765.

Jordan's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday strongly condemned the assault by extremist Israeli settlers on two Jordanian humanitarian aid convoys to the Gaza Strip

Jordan condemns extremist Israeli settlers

Jordan's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday strongly condemned the assault by extremist Israeli settlers on two Jordanian humanitarian aid convoys to the Gaza Strip.

The Jordanian ministry held the Israeli authorities fully responsible for this crime, calling on the international community to take a clear stance condemning it and to compel Israel to fulfill its legal obligations and ensure the protection of aid convoys and international organizations working to receive and distribute them.

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The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates also denounced the assault by Israeli settlers.

In a statement sent to Xinhua, the ministry criticized Israel's insistence on blocking aid from entering Gaza and reaching those in need.

It accused the Israeli right-wing and its followers of defying international peace efforts and using starvation as a weapon of war to kill Palestinian civilians.