Israeli ground troops encircled Gaza City on Friday in their war against Hamas, as top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken arrived in Israel for a trip focused on "concrete steps" to minimize Palestinian civilian casualties.

Ahead of Blinken's arrival, Israel's military said on Thursday it had "completed the encirclement" of the narrow Palestinian territory's largest city -- signalling a new phase in the nearly month-long conflict.

Israel's military said Thursday its forces have surrounded the Hamas stronghold of Gaza City after a day that saw the Palestinian territory pounded by deadly fire.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, warned Israel its invading soldiers would go home "in black bags".

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday he would work to avoid escalation of the Israel-Hamas war after Yemen's Huthi rebels and Lebanon's Hezbollah, both backed by Iran, fired on Israel.

Bahrain's lower house of parliament announced Thursday the halting of economic ties with Israel and the return of ambassadors on both sides over the Israel-Hamas war, although there was no government confirmation.

Israel's foreign ministry said it had not been notified of any decision by Bahrain. If confirmed, it would be the first such move by one of Israel's Arab Gulf allies.

Palestinian militants shot and killed an Israeli civilian in the northern part of the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Israel’s military and rescue services said.

Militants began firing at a car in Einav, an Israeli settlement, causing it to turn over and killing a 35-year-old man inside, they said. Israel’s military said it set up roadblocks in the area and was pursuing the attackers.

Hundreds of foreign passport-holders and dozens of other seriously wounded Palestinians desperate to escape Israel's bombardment of Gaza crowded around the black metal gate on the Egyptian border Wednesday, hoping to pass through the enclave's only portal to the outside world for the first time since the war began.

Restless children pressed their faces against the wire mesh as families with backpacks and carry-on suitcases pushed and jostled. The air was thick with apprehension.

President Joe Biden said he thought there should be a humanitarian "pause" in the Israel-Hamas war, after his campaign speech Wednesday evening was interrupted by a protester calling for a cease-fire.

"I think we need a pause," Biden said.

More than 3,600 Palestinian children were killed in the first 25 days of the war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry. They were hit by airstrikes, smashed by misfired rockets, burned by blasts and crushed by buildings, and among them were newborns and toddlers, avid readers, aspiring journalists and boys who thought they'd be safe in a church.

Nearly half of the crowded strip's 2.3 million inhabitants are under 18, and children account for 40% of those killed so far in the war. An Associated Press analysis of Gaza Health Ministry data released last week showed that as of Oct. 26, 2,001 children ages 12 and under had been killed, including 615 who were 3 or younger.

Yemen's Houthi movement launched missiles and drones at Israel on Oct. 31, 2023 – provoking fears of a dangerous escalation of the Middle East conflict.

With the militia – which controls part of the Arabian Peninsula state – vowing further attacks, Israel countered by sending missile boats to the Red Sea. They join U.S. warships already deployed in the area.

Israeli troops advanced toward Gaza City on Thursday, as the Palestinian death toll rose above 9,000. With no end in sight after weeks of heavy fighting, U.S. and Arab mediators intensified efforts to ease Israel's siege of the Hamas-ruled enclave and called for at least a brief halt to the hostilities in order to aid civilians.

U.S. President Joe Biden suggested a humanitarian "pause" the day before, as an apparent agreement among the U.S., Egypt, Israel and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, allowed hundreds of Palestinians with foreign passports and dozens of wounded to leave Gaza for the first time. Dozens more left on Thursday.