Israeli ground troops fighting to destroy Hamas surrounded Gaza City as top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken arrived in Israel for a trip focused on "concrete steps" to minimize Palestinian civilian casualties. Separately, Israel began expelling thousands of Palestinian workers back to Gaza, despite ongoing fighting and air strikes that have killed thousands of civilians in the territory.

And in Geneva, the United Nations launched an emergency aid appeal seeking $1.2 billion to help some 2.7 million people facing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank.

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The leader of Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, was to make a speech later in the day, breaking with weeks of silence, amid concerns of a broader regional conflagration. Ahead of Blinken's arrival, Israel's military said it had "completed the encirclement" of Gaza's largest city - signaling a new phase in the nearly month-long conflict.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said the death toll since the start of the conflict in the territory reached 9,227. The ministry said 3,826 children and 2,405 women were among the dead.

After the Hamas assault, Israeli forces moved to re-establish security on the border, trapping thousands of Palestinian workers inside Israel. On Friday, officials began to force them back into Gaza, journalists at the Karem Abu Salem crossing saw.

'Israel severs all contact with Gaza'

Israel said it would start sending the workers back to Gaza. "Israel is severing all contact with Gaza. There will be no more Palestinian workers from Gaza," the Israeli security cabinet said in a statement.

The United Nations Human Rights Office said it was "deeply concerned" about the expulsions.

"They are being sent back, we don't know exactly to where, and whether they even have a home to go to," spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell told a news conference in Geneva.

Before the conflict started, some 18,500 Gazans were holding Israeli work permits, according to figures provided by COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs. COGAT would not immediately say how many of those Gazans were working inside Israel on October 7.

New Israeli strikes rocked the Gaza Strip, and the Gaza health ministry reported at least 15 deaths in Gaza City's Zeitun neighborhood and seven in Jabalia refugee camp.

Before his departure, Blinken said he would seek to ensure that harm to Palestinian civilians is reduced, in a visible shift of tone for the U.S. which has promised full support and ramped-up military aid to Israel.

"We will be talking about concrete steps that can and should be taken to minimize harm to men, women and children in Gaza," Blinken said. "This is something that the U.S. is committed to."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has already had some "very impressive successes" with troops on the outskirts of Gaza City. "We are advancing," he said at a base near Tel Aviv.

Israel's military describes Gaza City as "the center of the Hamas terror organization."

'Peace is easy to break, difficult to restore'

As China assumed the UN Security Council presidency for the month of November, Zhang Jun, China's Permanent Representative, showed his colleagues an ancient toy, likening its mechanics to world peace.

"It's called a Luban lock. It was invented more than 2,500 years ago. It's composed of six pieces of wood. They hold up together tightly in a very simple way. You can break it easily by pulling out one of the six pieces, the problem is how to fix it," explained Zhang. "Let's take this [toy] as peace and to cherish what we have before us. So once it's broken, you cannot fix peace together easily."

A group of UN-mandated human rights experts - who do not speak for the United Nations - warned that "time is running out to prevent genocide and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza." Israel's Geneva embassy denounced the report as Hamas "propaganda" in a social media post.

Both Israel and the U.S. have ruled out a blanket ceasefire, which they say would allow Hamas to regroup and resupply.

'Gaza will be the curse of history for Israel'

Although many of the city's half-a-million residents fled south following Israel's warning to leave ahead of a ground operation, those who stayed behind have endured weeks of aerial bombardment, dwindling supplies and daily carnage.

But yet more mayhem seems to lie ahead, as the conflict turns to urban and underground warfare - with Hamas fighting from a tunnel complex believed to span hundreds of kilometers. The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, insisted Israeli soldiers would go home "in black bags."

"Gaza will be the curse of history for Israel," spokesman Abu Obeida said.

Israel's allies have backed its right to self-defense, but there is growing global concern and anger at how Israel has chosen to prosecute the war. Israel has dismissed these calls, saying it targets Hamas fighters whom it accuses of intentionally hiding among the population and civilian buildings.

In one of the strongest criticisms of Israel from a European leader, Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said it had the right to defend itself and chase Hamas but the assault on Gaza also looked like it was turning into "revenge."

The United Arab Emirates, one of a handful of Arab states with diplomatic ties to Israel, said it was working "relentlessly" for an immediate ceasefire, warning that the risk of regional spillover and further escalation was real.

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