JERUSALEM (AP) — The White House said Sunday that “it is the right time” for Israel to scale back its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli leaders vowed again to continue their operation against the ruling Hamas militant group there.

The comments highlighted growing differences between the close allies on the 100th day of the war.

Also on Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck targets in Lebanon after a Hezbollah rocket attack in northern Israel killed two Israeli civilians – an elderly woman and her adult son. The shooting underscored concerns that violence in Gaza could lead to wider fighting across the region.

The war in Gaza, which Israel began in response to Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7, has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians, devastated large swathes of the Gaza Strip, forced some 85% of the territory’s 2.3 million residents from their homes and a A quarter of the population drove the population to starvation.

John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said on CBS that the US had discussed with Israel “a transition to low-intensity operations” in Gaza.

“We believe it is the right time for this transition. And we talk to them about it,” he said on “Face the Nation.”

Israel launched the offensive after the Hamas attack killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep going until Hamas is destroyed and all of the more than 100 hostages still in captivity are released.

The war has raised tensions across the region as Israel joins Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia and Iran-backed militias in almost daily attacks on US targets in Syria and Iraq. In addition, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have targeted international shipping and unleashed a wave of U.S. airstrikes last week.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said his group would not stop until a ceasefire was in place for Gaza.

“We continue, and our front is inflicting casualties on the enemy and putting pressure on displaced people,” Nasrallah said in a speech, referring to the tens of thousands of Israelis who have fled the northern border areas.

In other developments, tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Europe and the Middle East on Sunday to mark the 100th day of the war. Opposing demonstrations either demanded the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas or called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

In Israel, supporters of the hostages and their families ended a 24-hour protest in Tel Aviv calling on the government to secure their immediate release.

Late Sunday, Hamas released a short video in which three Israeli hostages, presumably speaking under duress, pleaded with their government to end the war and bring them home. It was not clear when the video was recorded. At the end of the clip, Hamas said it would provide an update on their fate on Monday.

Hamas has released several videos of this nature, apparently in an attempt to pressure Israel to agree to its demand for an end to the war before negotiations begin for the possible release of all hostages in exchange for most or all of the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

INTERNATIONAL PRINT

The unprecedented level of death and destruction in Gaza has led to South Africa filing genocide charges against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Israel denies the allegations and has vowed to continue its offensive even if the court in The Hague issues an injunction to stop it.

Israel is also under growing international pressure to end the war in Gaza, but has so far been shielded from U.S. diplomatic and military support. Israel argues that a ceasefire would bring victory to Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007 and is bent on Israel’s destruction.

“It’s been 100 days, but we won’t stop until we win,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday.

But differences with the Americans are emerging. During a visit to the region last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken renewed his calls for Israel to do more to reduce civilian casualties and increase deliveries of urgently needed humanitarian aid to Gaza.

In recent weeks, Israel has scaled back operations in the northern Gaza Strip, the original target of the offensive, where weeks of air strikes and ground operations had reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble.

Kirby, the White House spokesman, acknowledged that Israel had taken some “preliminary steps” to reduce the offensive. But he said there was more to do.

“We are not saying that you should take your foot off the gas completely and stop pursuing Hamas,” he said. “We just think the time to move into that lower-intensity phase is very, very soon.”

Fears of a second front

Hezbollah’s deadly rocket attack in northern Israel raised fears that an outright war could break out on a second front.

It came shortly after the Israeli army said it killed three Lebanese militants who were trying to infiltrate Israel.

Late Sunday, the Israeli military said it had attacked Lebanon in response to the rocket attack. Israeli officials said a woman in her 70s and her son in his 40s were killed in the town of Yuval.

The army’s chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said Israel would not tolerate attacks on civilians.

“The prize will be drawn not only tonight but also in the future,” he said.

Yuval is one of more than 40 towns along Israel’s northern border that were evacuated by the government in October. Israeli media reported that the family remained in the area because they worked in agriculture.

Tensions have also spread to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Palestinian health officials say nearly 350 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in clashes during the war.

On Sunday, the Israeli army said troops opened fire after a Palestinian car broke through a military roadblock in the southern West Bank and an attacker fired on soldiers. Palestinian health authorities said two Palestinians were killed.

Late Sunday, Palestinian health authorities said two teenagers had been killed by Israeli fire. The army said it shot them dead after they dropped a bomb on a military base.

ISRAEL ATTACKS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN GAZA

Israel has launched major operations against the southern city of Khan Younis and set up refugee camps in the center of the Gaza Strip.

“No one can move,” said Rami Abu Matouq, who lives in Maghazi camp. “Fighters, snipers and gunfire are everywhere.”

According to health authorities, at least 15 people were killed in Israeli attacks in the city center of Deir al-Balah late Saturday.

At the entrance to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, men lined up to pray for the dead, whose bodies were wrapped in white shrouds. The bodies were placed in the back of a pickup truck before being taken to burial.

Meanwhile, Egyptian television channel Al-Ghad reported that a cameraman was killed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza. The broadcaster said Yazan al-Zwaidi appeared to be in a crowd at the time. Details were not immediately available and the Israeli military did not comment.

Internet advocacy group Netblocks said communications in Gaza were still disrupted after a 48-hour outage. Palestinian telecommunications operator in Gaza Jawwal said two of its employees were killed on Saturday when they were hit by a shell while repairing lines in Khan Younis.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Sunday that hospitals had received 125 bodies in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 23,968. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says about two-thirds of the dead were women and minors. It is said that over 60,000 people were injured.

Israel blames Hamas for the high civilian casualties, saying its fighters use civilian buildings and launch attacks from densely populated urban areas. According to the military, 189 soldiers have been killed and 1,099 injured since the ground offensive began.

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Magdy reported from Cairo. Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.

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