Calls for immediate cease-fire rejected as Israeli troops advance on Gaza City

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• John Yang:

  Good evening. I'm John Yang. The Israeli military says it's closing in on Gaza City ground zero in the word of crash of Hamas, and tonight America's top diplomat is in the region trying to ease the Palestinian civilians suffering.

  U.N. officials warned of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza, saying the average resident is surviving on just two pieces of bread a day. In Washington DC and other world capitals including Berlin, Paris and London, pro-Palestinian marches and rallies called for an immediate ceasefire.

  And late today Hamas said that more than 60 of the hostages its fighters took during the October 7 assault on Israel are missing after Israeli bombing, a claim that could not be immediately verified.

  From Israel special correspondent Leila Molana-Allen has more and we warn you that some of the pictures are difficult to watch.

• Leila Molana-Allen:

  In the Gaza Strip, a United Nations school near the northern Jabalya refugee camp offered this little refuge to those within. Airstrikes hit tents in the school yard and an area where women were baking breads. 18,000 people are sheltering that.

• Man (through translator):

  Where should I go? They have hit the shelters, those who are on the street in Gaza are hit while walking. Since when does it become normal to strike shelters? This is so unfair.

• Leila Molana-Allen:

  The U.N. refugee agency could not verify the number of people killed. But the Hamas run Gaza health ministry put it at 15. This boy he says he carried a decapitated body away from the scene. Palestinians also search for survivors of an airstrike on a residential area in the southern city of Khan Younis.

• Harb Al-Barqy (through translator):

  We are steadfast in Gaza, even if only one citizen is left. From there, the state will start again.

• Leila Molana-Allen:

  As the civilian death toll rises, the Israeli military maintains it is only targeting Hamas fighters. The Israel Defense Forces released new footage today of what it said with forces blowing up Hamas tunnels and clearing access routes for vehicles.

  In Amman, Jordan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his regional counterparts. They urged him to push for an immediate ceasefire. But Blinken stopped short reiterating his call for humanitarian pauses.

  Antony Blinken, Secretary of State: It's our view that a ceasefire now, it simply leave Hamas in place able to regroup and repeat what it did on October 7. It's also one of the reasons why humanitarian pause would be so important to make sure that we can maximize the assistance getting to the Palestinians, that we can make sure that people can move about safely that they can get to places where they're safe.

• Leila Molana-Allen:

  But as strikes continue throughout the strip, Gazans question whether any such places exist. For PBS News Weekend, I'm Leila Molana-Allen in Tel Aviv, Israel.