As Israel prepares for a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip, the international community has mobilized to try to protect civilians and prevent the conflict spreading across the region.

But Israel's avowed determination to crush Hamas, the group behind the October 7 attack on Israel, are hampering mediation efforts. So too are clashes along Israel's northern border with Lebanon.

More than a million people have fled their homes in the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected Israeli invasion that seeks to eliminate Hamas' leadership after its deadly incursion. Aid groups warn an Israeli ground offensive could hasten a humanitarian crisis.

Israeli forces, supported by U.S. warships, positioned themselves along Gaza's border and drilled for what Israel said would be a broad campaign to dismantle the militant group. A week of blistering airstrikes have demolished neighborhoods but failed to stop militant rocket fire into Israel.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned Monday to Israel after talks in six Arab states, hoping to coordinate efforts against Hamas while finding ways to alleviate Gaza's humanitarian crisis.

Just four days after he paid a lightning visit to Tel Aviv to show solidarity, Blinken landed back in the city and was expected to meet leaders in Jerusalem as Israel prepares a major ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

More than one million people have been displaced in the Gaza Strip in the last week, the U.N. said Sunday, after sustained Israeli bombardment and warnings about a ground attack targeting Hamas commanders.

Israel declared war on the Palestinian group last Sunday, a day after waves of fighters broke through the heavily fortified border and reportedly killed hundreds of Israeli soldiers and civilians.

Iran on Sunday warned that any Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip could expand the scope of the conflict elsewhere in the Middle East.

The United States said Sunday it fears an escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas and the prospect of Iran getting directly involved.

Medics in Gaza warned Sunday that thousands could die as hospitals packed with wounded people run desperately low on fuel and basic supplies. Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave struggled to find food, water and safety ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive in the war between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli forces, supported by a growing deployment of U.S. warships in the region, positioned themselves along Gaza's border and drilled for what Israel said would be a broad campaign to dismantle the militant group. A week of blistering airstrikes have demolished entire neighborhoods but failed to stem militant rocket fire into Israel.

The German government on Sunday urged its nationals not to travel to Israel, the Palestinian territories or Lebanon because of "an escalation of violence" following the Hamas-Israel war.

Iran Saturday said it was still possible to prevent a regional spillover of Israel's war with Islamist group Hamas but warned that time was quickly running out.

Thousands of Palestinians sought refuge Saturday after Israel warned them to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip ahead of an expected ground offensive against Hamas, one week after the deadliest attack in Israel's history.

The group's militants are accused of killing more than 1,300 Israelis in an attack Israel has compared to 9/11 in the United States, sparking a massive retaliatory bombing campaign targeting Hamas that has killed over 2,200 in Gaza.