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

Intense ground fighting continued Friday in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, where Israel Defense Forces have encountered some of the toughest Hamas resistance yet.

Israel sharply ramped 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.