The report comes amid news that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sheltered in a bunker for five minutes on Monday when air sirens went off in Tel Aviv during their meeting.

The two have since moved out and are continuing their discussions at the defence ministry’s command centre, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Speaking to reporters after an earlier meeting with Blinken, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: “This will be a long war; the price will be high. But we are going to win for Israel and the Jewish people and for the values that both countries believe in.”

Blinken was in Egypt on Sunday, where he said the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing into Gaza would soon reopen, but a deal to allow aid in and for some foreign citizens to leave had not yet materialised.

Miller said Blinken discussed humanitarian coordination with Netanyahu at an earlier meeting.

Washington has moved an aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean and is set to move another carrier to the region in coming days, moves Blinken has said are meant as a deterrent, not a provocation.

The United States has told some troops, potentially 2,000, to be ready to deploy within 24 hours if notified - instead of the usual 96 hours - to the region and could include units that provide help such as medical aid if needed, a US official said.

The head of Israel’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency on Monday took responsibility for failing to prevent Hamas from carrying out its deadly rampage through Israeli towns.

“Despite a series of actions we carried out, unfortunately, on Saturday we were unable to generate sufficient warning that would allow the attack to be thwarted,” said Ronen Bar in a statement.

“As the one who heads the organisation, the responsibility for this is on me. There will be time for investigations. Now we fight.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday called for a humanitarian corridor to be opened into Gaza.

“Canada is calling for unimpeded humanitarian access and a humanitarian corridor, so that essential aid like food, fuel and water, can be delivered to civilians in Gaza. It is imperative that this happen,” Trudeau said.

Canada fully supported Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international law, but “even wars have rules,” Trudeau told the House of Commons lower chamber of parliament.

“Terrorism is always indefensible, and nothing can justify Hamas’ acts of terror. Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people nor their legitimate aspirations,” he said.

In Beirut, France’s foreign minister Catherine Colonna said Lebanese authorities should take all necessary measures to avert a war with Israel, following repeated exchanges of fire along the shared frontier.

Colonna spoke hours after Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement again traded cross-border fire, adding to tensions and fears of a wider war, 10 days into fighting between Gaza-based Hamas and Israel.

Tit-for-tat fire in recent days between Hezbollah and its allied Palestinian factions on the one side and Israel on the other have killed at least 11 people in southern Lebanon and two in Israel.

“Lebanese officials have a responsibility … to do everything possible to prevent Lebanon from being dragged into a spiral,” Catherine Colonna told a press conference, adding that, no group “should take advantage” of the situation.

The United Nations patrols the border between Lebanon and Israel, which remain technically at war.

We must “continue to avoid a conflagration which could threaten the entire region”, Colonna said following stops in Israel and Cairo.

Earlier on Monday, she met Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati who said: “We are working for peace, but the decision to go to war is in Israel’s hands.”

Israel’s army said on Monday it was evacuating residents living along its northern border with Lebanon. The move affects thousands of people living in 28 communities.

In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday confirmed media reports he would travel to Israel and Egypt this week.

“It is important to me to also express my solidarity with Israel very practically with my visit,” he told reporters, while confirming a “later trip” to Egypt.

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Asia’s Muslim-majority countries rally in support of Palestinians as Middle East conflict mounts

Asia’s Muslim-majority countries rally in support of Palestinians as Middle East conflict mounts

German media had earlier reported that Scholz would travel to Israel on Tuesday as the first visit by a foreign head of government since the assault, which has sparked a war between Israel and Hamas.

The fate of German nationals kidnapped by Hamas during the attack 10 days ago is expected to be among the topics of discussion, according to the reports.

Scholz said he wanted to address “practical questions, particularly in terms of the security situation” in his talks “and how we can prevent an escalation of the conflict into further regions”.

Scholz added he wanted to discuss “how humanitarian aid can be organised” while stressing that “Israel has every right to defend itself”.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock already travelled to Israel on Friday. At a press conference with her Israeli counterpart in Jerusalem, she condemned Hamas for using residents as a “shield”.

A poll published on Monday by Bild newspaper showed strong support for Israel in the conflict among Germans.

According to the survey by the INSA independent opinion research institute, more than 70 per cent agreed when asked if Israel “has the right to defend itself militarily” against Hamas

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse