(NewsNation) – Israel’s war in Gaza enters its fourth month, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East They are pushing for a ceasefire and the release of the remaining 130-plus Israeli hostages.

Inside GazaNearly 28,000 Palestinians died, including more than 11,000 children. Injured children receive help in Egyptian hospitals, which Arwa Damon recently visited to meet some of these children and their families.

Damon, founder of the International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance, described the situation there as “nothing very good.”

“What was quite striking, aside from the medical injuries that these children suffered, is the mental health impact of this whole thing,” Damon said Monday on “CUOMO.”

She met a boy who could no longer speak and a girl who was virtually paralyzed from the neck down, although tests revealed no obvious physical injuries.

“It’s very likely that it’s psychosomatic, meaning she’s caught in the intestinal trauma response known as the freeze phase,” Damon said. “Recovery from such traumatic psychological injuries will take years, on top of all the medical injuries and wounds these children are dealing with.”

Israeli troops have been in the Gaza Strip for months since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, which was sparked by a Hamas incursion into Israel on October 7 that killed more than 1,200 people. More than 200 have been taken hostage, and some remain captive.

Blinken’s goal in the Middle East goes beyond a possible ceasefire agreement; He is also there to discuss post-war planning reduce regional tensions.

As the war has progressed, humanitarian aid groups have called on Israel to do more to reduce civilian casualties and allow more aid to Gaza, where displaced residents are suffering severe shortages of food and water.

Retired General Wesley Clark believes more could have been done in the early stages to prevent the current situation.

“We should have done everything we could to evacuate Gaza before the fighting started,” Clark said Monday on “CUOMO.” “Couldn’t (the United States) have foreseen the tragedy that would occur? I could definitely do that.”

Meanwhile, in Gaza, Hamas has reemerged in some of the most devastated areas following the withdrawal of Israeli forces, an indication that Israel’s central goal of dismantling the group remains elusive. Video footage from the same areas shows widespread destruction, with almost every building damaged or destroyed.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the military would continue its operations in the north of the Gaza Strip for many months to come and continue its main offensive in the south, where it has been engaged in heavy fighting for weeks, until it has “full control” over the entire Gaza Strip Area.

“Now you have the case that Israel sees Hamas as an existential threat and the ceasefire is on the wrong terms if it is permanent (so that it makes Hamas the winner). This helps Iran,” Clark said. “The survival of Hamas is a no-go. So how do we deal with this dilemma? That is the political problem, the military problem, that Secretary Blinken is certainly struggling with here.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.