U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized the devastating impact of Israel's attacks on civilians, especially the children in Gaza, saying that the cost was "far too high."
The "daily toll on civilians in Gaza, particularly children, is far too high", Blinken said.
Blinken made the comments at a news conference after talks in Tel Aviv with Israeli leaders.
Blinken said Palestinians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow and cited an agreement on a plan for the United Nations to carry out an assessment mission in Gaza.
Blinken said the United States rejected any proposals advocating a resettlement of Palestinians outside Gaza and stressed that the Palestinian Authority has the responsibility to reform itself.
He said that many countries in the Middle East are ready to invest in the future of Gaza, but only with a clear pathway to a Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, the top U.S. diplomat also said Washington believes South Africa's genocide submission against Israel is "meritless."
Blinken said Israel has agreed on a plan for a U.N. mission to assess the situation in war-torn northern Gaza to enable the safe return of displaced Palestinians.
"As Israel's campaign moves to a lower intensity phase in northern Gaza and as the IDF (Israel army) scales down its forces there, we agreed today on a plan for the U.N, to carry out an assessment mission," Blinken said during a visit to Israel.
"It will determine what needs to be done to allow displaced Palestinians to return safely to the north."
Blinken, on his fourth mission to the region since October, seeks to prevent an expansion of the conflict in the region amid the deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Israel has pounded the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 23,210 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 59,167 others, according to local health authorities.
Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas offensive.
About 85% of Gazans have been displaced, while all of them are food insecure, according to the U.N. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and less than half of aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.
