The U.S. Department of State said that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that Israel must stop causing more harm to civilians in Gaza.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement after Blinken’s meeting with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv: "The Secretary reaffirmed our support for Israel's right to prevent the recurrence of the terrorist attacks that took place on October 7 and emphasized the importance of avoiding further harm to civilians and protecting civilian infrastructure in Gaza."

It appears this is the first time the Biden administration has called on Israel to avoid targeting civilian infrastructure as well as the civilians themselves, amid the escalating destruction in Gaza.

The top American diplomat met with the Israeli government of full-scale war after his long one-on-one meeting with Netanyahu.

Blinken and Netanyahu discussed “ongoing efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages and the importance of increasing the level of humanitarian aid reaching civilians in Gaza,” according to Miller.

Additionally, Blinken emphasized “the need to ensure a lasting and sustainable peace for Israel and the region, including through the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

In a possible sign of disagreement during the meeting, the Prime Minister’s office issued no statement, as it usually does.

By emphasizing the Biden administration’s talk about a Palestinian state, according to an Israeli Channel 12 report, Washington is proposing the Arab Peace Initiative sponsored by Saudi Arabia for more than 20 years as a potential framework to end the war against Hamas in Gaza.

The 2002 initiative offers Israel normalization of relations with the entire Arab world once it reaches a two-state solution to its conflict with the Palestinians. Riyadh had set aside this agreement while pursuing separate normalization talks with Israel, mediated by the United States, before the Hamas attacks on October 7. It is widely believed that the Saudis are prepared to normalize relations with Israel without first securing a Palestinian state.

The report said the Biden administration believes such an agreement would be in the interest of the United States, Israel, and regional countries.

It said Blinken told the Israelis that images and footage of the war in Gaza are leading to “radicalization” in Middle Eastern countries, and pushing Israel to engage in talks about a diplomatic agreement in the north, for more humanitarian aid to Gaza and "a diplomatic horizon" for the Palestinian Authority.

But Israeli leaders have a different view of the war in Gaza, at least in the short term.

In his meeting with Blinken, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel will intensify its operations in the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza until Hamas leaders are found and Israeli hostages are released.

According to an account of the meeting, Gallant briefed Blinken on the developments of the war and pointed to “changes in Israeli combat tactics” in northern Gaza, where the army has eased some fighting now that it has achieved operational control of the area.

The statement said Gallant “confirmed that operations in the Khan Younis area will be intensified and will continue until Hamas leadership is uncovered, and the Israeli hostages return home safely.”

The Defense Minister also asked Blinken to increase pressure on Iran to prevent escalation in other arenas.

He said Israel’s top priority currently is enabling the return of residents to the north of the country, where fighting with Hezbollah has intensified, raising fears of a broader conflagration.

Right-wing extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded more bluntly to U.S. pressure, tweeting in English to Blinken: "This is not the time to talk quietly with Hamas, it’s time to use that big stick."

In Israel, during his fifth visit since the Hamas attacks on October 7, Blinken began his day with a meeting with President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.

Blinken, standing alongside Herzog, spoke of Washington’s “intense efforts” to bring remaining hostages home from Hamas captivity, adding that he would share what he heard from regional allies with Herzog and Netanyahu.

Herzog stressed that Israel is doing “everything possible under extremely complex conditions on the ground, to ensure there are no unintended consequences and no civilian casualties.”

He added, We warn, call, demonstrate, send leaflets, and use all measures permitted by international law to get people out, so that we can uncover this massive city of terror hidden beneath their homes, in people’s living rooms, bedrooms, mosques, shops, and schools.”

Blinken later appeared to endorse Herzog’s claim, acknowledging that fighting an enemy “entrenched among civilians, hiding in schools and hospitals and firing from them, makes this extraordinarily difficult.”

Some families of the abductees in Gaza gathered outside the meeting, urging President Joe Biden’s administration to do more to secure their release.

As fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues along the Lebanese border, U.S. officials sounded the alarm about the possibility of the war in Gaza spreading.

This is a moment of deep tension in the region. Blinken said in Qatar on Sunday: “This is a conflict that can easily spread, causing more insecurity and more suffering.”

The White House also sent other senior officials to try to find a diplomatic means to avoid a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah, with Biden sending special envoy Amos Hochstein to the region, and Washington intensifying its diplomatic engagement in an attempt to ease escalating tensions between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese proxy.

Cross-border attacks from Lebanon have continued since the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip began on October 7.

The Biden administration is also looking to see an end to fighting in the Gaza Strip and a significant improvement in the humanitarian situation.

With Biden trailing his likely Republican presidential opponent Donald Trump in polls ahead of this year’s presidential election, the need to move beyond the scenes of destruction in Gaza has become more urgent in Washington.

Facing far-left protesters demanding a ceasefire on Monday, Biden said during a speech at a church in South Carolina that he is “working quietly with the Israeli government to get them to reduce their size and substantially exit Gaza.”

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari told The New York Times on Monday that the Israeli military has already begun a new, less intense phase of the war against Hamas, with fewer ground troops and airstrikes.

A senior U.S. official told CNN on Tuesday that Blinken expects focus on Israel’s plan to transition to Phase Three, adding that Blinken and his team will push Israeli war leadership toward an “imminent” transition to the next phase, which would see a decrease in fighting intensity and the potential for Gaza residents to return to their homes in the northern part of the territory.