DLNews War of the World:

Israel's prime minister pushed back against growing U.S. pressure for a "humanitarian pause" in the nearly month-old war to protect civilians and allow more aid into Gaza, insisting there would be no temporary cease-fire until the roughly 240 hostages held by Hamas are released. Palestinian officials say about 9,400 people have died in Gaza's fighting with Israel, a figure that could rise significantly as the assault continues. In northern Gaza, Israeli troops tightened their encirclement of the city's 1.1 million residents, and a military statement said that a convoy of evacuees on the coastal road they were told to use to go south was hit by an airstrike that killed around a dozen.

A senior administration official emphasized that a larger plan to release the captives is still on the table and could be modeled after the smaller-scale pause that allowed for the release of two American hostages from Hamas captivity last month. The official, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter, said policymakers believe a "fairly significant pause" will be needed to allow such releases.

The United Nations says about 1.5 million people in Gaza, or 70 percent of the population, have fled their homes and is warning that food, water, and the fuel needed for generators that power hospitals and other facilities are running low. The UN has called for an immediate humanitarian pause to allow more aid into the region, where about 1,500 civilians have been killed.

In a meeting with Netanyahu on Friday, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden pressed for the release of the hostages and for a pause in the fighting to permit more aid to flow into Gaza. But the Israeli leader repeated his opposition to a Gaza pause, saying it would be met with the full force of Israel's army.

The military paused only briefly on Saturday to allow some civilians from the Shati refugee camp near Gaza City to head south, and Israel offered a three-hour window Sunday for residents to flee from northern Gaza to southern areas. However, an AP reporter on the roads was not able to see any cars heading down, and Israel asserted that it had been able to keep up its bombardment because it was attacking the heart of the territory.

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank on Friday, Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians in separate incidents and arrested many more, according to Palestinian security sources. Israel has accused the Palestinians of committing violence and calling for an independent state along pre-1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital. It says it is fighting to prevent such a prospect.

In a tweet on Sunday, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna reiterated France's call for "an immediate halt to the bombing of Gaza and the entry of urgently needed relief." She tweeted that it was "inconceivable" that the Palestinian people should be condemned to "suffer such horror for so long." The government also called for an end to the blockade of Gaza and urged Israel to reopen the crossing at the border with Egypt that is used by humanitarian trucks.