Analysis: With Saudi-Israel normalisation frozen for now, Riyadh has stepped up its public diplomacy over the Gaza war but is still treading cautiously.

Israel eliminated Hamas battalion commanders and targeted Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s home in Gaza. A Houthi missile was fired at Eilat and Israel’s Defense Minister discussed the importance of preventing Hezbollah threats to Israeli communities in the north.

Israel said it has killed about half of Hamas’s midlevel commanders in Gaza and is pressing on the suspected hiding place of the group’s leader, deploying a deliberate strategy to disrupt the militants’ ability to fight in the enclave.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli defense forces are currently surrounding the southern Gaza home of the chief of Hamas.

Antony Blinken, the American secretary of state, has made it clear that Israel has until early January to wrap up its ground operation in Gaza