Israel kept up its bombardment of Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the “intense phase” of the conflict was winding down, as the United States urged its ally to avoid further escalation along the Lebanon border, AFP reports.

Israeli forces launched more deadly strikes, with 13 people killed across two schools and a home hit in Gaza City, according to the territory’s civil defence agency.

With Israel planning to redeploy some soldiers from Gaza to the Lebanese border, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed the country’s defence minister not to allow the violence to spiral.

Blinken “underscored the importance of avoiding further escalation of the conflict and reaching a diplomatic resolution that allows both Israeli and Lebanese families to return to their homes,” spokesman Matthew Miller said after the meeting in Washington with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.