ABU DHABI, GAZA, JERUSALEM, Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Monday before heading on to Israel after warning that the Gaza war could spread across the region without concerted peace efforts, while Israel vowed to continue fighting until Hamas was eliminated.
Blinken was in Jordan and Qatar on Sunday at the start of a five-day diplomatic effort in the Middle East seeking to avert a wider war in the region. He is also due to visit the West Bank and Egypt this week.
"This is a moment of profound tension for the region. This is a conflict that could easily metastasize, causing even more insecurity and suffering," Blinken told a press conference in Doha before heading to Abu Dhabi.
Blinken said he would tell Israeli officials that it is imperative they do more to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza and that Palestinian civilians must be allowed to return home and not be pressed to leave Gaza.
Jordan's King Abdullah urged Blinken to use Washington's influence over Israel to press it for an immediate ceasefire and warned of the "catastrophic repercussions" of Israel's continued military campaign.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue fighting.
"The war must not be stopped until we achieve all the goals: the elimination of Hamas, the return of all our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," he said at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday. "I say this to both our enemies and our friends."
Despite global concern over the death and destruction in Gaza and widespread calls for a ceasefire, Israeli public opinion remains firmly behind the operation aimed at wiping out the Hamas group that rules Gaza, although support for Netanyahu has fallen sharply.
Israeli officials say some 1,200 people were killed and 240 taken hostage in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the deadliest day in the country's history, and accounts of atrocities that later emerged left a sense that its survival is at stake. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas.
Israel's offensive since has so far killed 22,835 Palestinians in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said on Sunday, after 111 dead and 250 wounded were added to the tally over the past 24 hours.
