Israel, Hamas battle across Gaza as appetite for peace talks fades

WARNING: This story contains distressing images.

Battles raged across Gaza on Sunday as Israel indicated it was willing to fight for months or longer to defeat the territory's Hamas rulers, and a key mediator said willingness to discuss a ceasefire was fading.

Israel faces international outrage after its military offensive — with diplomatic support and arms from its close ally, the United States — has killed thousands of Palestinian civilians. About 90 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, where UN agencies say there is no safe place to flee.

The U.S. has lent vital support in recent days by vetoing a United Nations Security Council effort to end the fighting and pushing through an emergency sale of more than $100 million US worth of tank ammunition to Israel.

Israel's air and ground war has killed thousands of Palestinians, mostly civilians, since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that Israel says killed 1,200 people — including several Canadians — and saw around 240 taken hostage. More than 100 of the hostages were released during a week-long ceasefire late last month.

With very little aid allowed in, Palestinians face severe shortages of food, water and other basic goods. Some observers openly worry that Palestinians will be forced out of Gaza altogether.

"Expect public order to completely break down soon, and an even worse situation could unfold, including epidemic diseases and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a forum in Qatar, a key intermediary.

Eylon Levy, an Israeli government spokesperson, called allegations of mass displacement from Gaza "outrageous and false."

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani told the forum that mediation efforts to stop the war and have all hostages released will continue, but "unfortunately, we are not seeing the same willingness that we had seen in the weeks before."

Israel's national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, told Israel's Channel 12 TV that the U.S. has set no deadline for Israel to achieve its goals.

"The evaluation that this can't be measured in weeks is correct, and I'm not sure it can be measured in months," he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN that it would be up to Israel to determine the duration and the conduct of the fighting. He also told ABC that with Hamas still intact, a ceasefire now "would simply perpetuate the problem."

Jordan's foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, told the Qatar forum that this is a war that cannot be won, warning that "Israel has created an amount of hatred that will haunt this region that will define generations to come."

Israeli forces face heavy resistance, including in northern Gaza, where neighbourhoods have been flattened by airstrikes and where ground troops have operated for more than six weeks.