Israel's cutoff of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza's 2 million people has sent prices soaring and humanitarian groups into overdrive trying to distribute dwindling stocks to the most vulnerable.

The aid freeze has imperiled the progress aid workers say they have made to stave off famine over the past six weeks during Phase 1 of the ceasefire deal Israel and Hamas agreed to in January.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told new military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir Wednesday that Israel is "determined" to achieve victory in the multi-front war that began with Hamas' October 2023 attack.

"A very heavy responsibility rests on your shoulders, the results of the war will have significance for generations, we are determined to achieve... victory" Netanyahu told Zamir during his inauguration at the military's headquarters in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv.

A Syria war monitor said Wednesday that four civilians have been killed in a security operation in the coastal city of Latakia that was launched after a deadly attack on security services.

Latakia province is a former stronghold of the government of ousted president Bashar al-Assad and the heartland of his family's Alawite minority.

Hamas urged Tuesday's Arab League summit in Cairo to "thwart" the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza as regional leaders meet to counter U.S. President Donald Trump's widely condemned proposal.

"We look forward to an effective Arab role that ends the humanitarian tragedy created by the occupation in the Gaza Strip... and thwarts the (Israeli) occupation's plans to displace (Palestinians)," a statement by the militant group said.

Egypt has proposed a $53 billion plan to rebuild Gaza over five years, focusing on emergency relief, infrastructure restoration and long-term economic development, according to a draft document seen by AFP.

The proposal, set to be discussed at an extraordinary Arab summit in Cairo later on Tuesday, counters a plan floated by U.S. President Donald Trump last month to assume control of war-torn Gaza and displace its Palestinian population, including to Egypt and Jordan.

The Israeli military said Tuesday it had expanded its offensive in the occupied West Bank currently in its 43rd day to new parts of the northern city of Jenin.

Israeli forces "expanded the counterterrorism operation in northern Samaria to additional areas in Jenin", the military said, using the Biblical name for that part of the West Bank, adding it killed two Palestinians including a local Hamas leader during the overnight raid.

Palestinian health officials say 29 children have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip to Jordan for medical treatment.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II offered to take in 2,000 children for medical treatment during a White House meeting with President Donald Trump last month.

Israel Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday that Israel demands Gaza's "full demilitarization" and Hamas's removal in order to proceed to the second phase of a January ceasefire deal.

"We don't have an agreement on phase two. We demand total demilitarization of Gaza, Hamas and Islamic Jihad out, and give us our hostages. If they agree to that we can implement tomorrow," Saar told a news conference in Jerusalem.

Arab leaders meeting in Egypt are set to approve a counterproposal to President Donald Trump's call for the Gaza Strip to be depopulated and transformed into a beach destination.

The summit on Tuesday hosted by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is expected to include the leaders of regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose support is seen as crucial for any postwar plan.

Arab foreign ministers are meeting in Cairo Monday for talks focusing on an Egyptian plan to rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip that is meant to counter President Donald Trump’s proposal to transfer Palestinians out of the coastal enclave and take it over.

The ministers’ meeting comes ahead of an Arab summit Tuesday in Cairo which is meant to adopt the Egyptian plan, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said.