Tunisia, Norway and China have requested another emergency U.N. Security Council meeting be scheduled Friday on the worsening hostilities between Israel and Palestinians, despite ongoing U.S. resistance for the body to take a role in the conflict.

The session would be public and would include participation by Israel and the Palestinians, diplomats told AFP Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said overnight he spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, urging an end to rocket attacks fired from Gaza by Hamas militants amid escalating tensions with Israel.

U.S. President Joe Biden said overnight that Israel has a right to defend itself but after speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he hopes violent clashes with Palestinians will end quickly.

Israel and the Palestinians were engaged in an escalating conflict on two fronts Thursday, with Israeli authorities scrambling to quell riots between Arabs and Jews inside Israel after days of exchanging deadly fire with Islamist militants in Gaza.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered a "massive reinforcement" of security forces to quell mob violence across the country, where police stations have been attacked and people savagely beaten on both sides.

The international community must do everything possible to avert a new conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, France's foreign minister said Wednesday, after Palestinian militants fired hundreds of rockets and the Israeli army launched air strikes.

Israelis and Palestinians must immediately halt their violence "to prevent a broader conflict" impacting civilian populations, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned on Wednesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday called for an urgent meeting of the Middle East Quartet in order to halt violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

The U.N. Security Council held another emergency meeting Wednesday on worsening hostilities between Israel and Palestinians, again without agreeing on a joint statement due to opposition from the United States, Israel's key ally, according to diplomats.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday reiterated his urging for a halt to violence between Israel and the Palestinians in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

"The secretary reiterated his call on all parties to de-escalate tensions and bring a halt to the violence," said a State Department statement. 

Calls grew on Wednesday for a de-escalation of violence after intense hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians that have left at least 65 dead and hundreds injured.