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

Israeli troops fought fierce battles with Hamas in an expanding offensive into southern Gaza on Wednesday, forcing tens of thousands of displaced Palestinian civilians to cram into a city close to the Egyptian border to avoid Israeli bombardment.

The son of Israel's former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, who is currently a minister in the country's war cabinet, has been killed in Gaza, the military says. It says 25-year-old Major Gal Eisenkot died in northern Gaza on Thursday.