US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Palestinians must not be pressured into leaving Gaza, and must be allowed to return to their homes once conditions allow, Ednews reports citing BBC.

Mr Blinken condemned statements by some Israeli ministers, who called for the resettlement of Palestinians elsewhere.

"Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow," Mr Blinken said on Sunday. "They cannot, they must not be pressed to leave Gaza."

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for Palestinians to leave Gaza and make way for Israelis who could "make the desert bloom".

And National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, another far-right politician, this week issued a call "to encourage the migration of Gaza residents" as a "solution" to the crisis.

The official line from the Israeli government is that Gazans will eventually be able to return to their homes, though it has yet to outline how or when this will be possible.

The US official was in Qatar on his latest Middle East tour. Mr Blinken's latest trip to the Middle East comes amid rising tensions in the region, with concerns that the war in Gaza could spread.

His comments followed reports that up to 70 people were killed at Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

More than 60 Palestinians were reportedly also killed in the past day in the southern city of Khan Younis.

Jabalia camp has been struck many times since Israel began its war against Hamas following the unprecedented attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on 7 October.

Some 1,200 people were killed - most of them civilians - and about 240 others taken hostage in the Hamas raids.

More than 22,000 people - mostly women and children - have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. It has reported at least 113 deaths over 24 hours of Israeli bombardment.

"This is a moment of profound tension in the region. This is a conflict that could easily metastasize, causing even more insecurity and even more suffering," Mr Blinken said.

Mr Blinken also said that the death of journalist Hamza al-Dahdouh, the eldest son of Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief who was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Gaza., was "an unimaginable tragedy".

He added that "far too many innocent Palestinian men, women and children" have died in the war.

Mr Blinken arrived in Qatar following stops in Jordan, Türkiye and Greece. He went on to Abu Dhabi late Sunday, and on Monday is due to travel to Saudi Arabia.