Analysis: With Saudi-Israel normalisation frozen for now, Riyadh has stepped up its public diplomacy over the Gaza war but is still treading cautiously.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a long-standing conflict that has resulted in numerous wars, major violent encounters, and massive losses of lives. The war against Hamas is a brutal and potentially explosive episode that could lead to the next conflagration in the West Bank.

Whereas Israel’s stated goal from the onset of its war in Gaza was and still justifiably is the destruction of Hamas, Israel has not offered as yet any

Israel accused Hamas on Thursday of firing rockets from what it called “humanitarian zones” in the southern Gaza Strip where thousands of desperate Palestinians have sought refuge, adding to concerns that no place in the battered enclave may be truly safe for civilians.

Israel sharply stepped up strikes on the Gaza Strip, pounding the length of the Palestinian enclave and killing hundreds in a new, expanded phase of the war that Washington said veered from Israeli promises to do more to protect civilians.