US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seize on the killing of Hamas’s chief to work towards a Gaza ceasefire, AFP reports.

Blinken also pressed for more aid to be allowed into the Palestinian territory as concerns rise for tens of thousands of civilians trapped by fighting in the hard-to-reach north.

Blinken “underscored the need to capitalise on Israel’s successful action to bring Yahya Sinwar to justice by securing the release of all hostages and ending the conflict in Gaza in a way that provides lasting security for Israelis and Palestinians alike”, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said after the talks in Jerusalem.

Blinken also “emphasised the need for Israel to take additional steps to increase and sustain the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and ensure that assistance reaches civilians throughout Gaza”, Miller said.