Israel hails US nuclear submarine deployment in region: ‘Good news’

Israel-Hamas War: "It's always good news to see that the Americans are moving in more assets," military spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Hecht said.

The Israeli military welcomed on Monday the deployment of a U.S. nuclear missile submarine in the region, which was announced on Sunday in what was widely seen as a bid by Washington to prevent the spread of the Gaza war to other fronts.

Israel-Hamas War: Palestinians sift through the rubble of a building in Khan Yunis amid the ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

"It's always good news to see that the Americans are moving in more assets," military spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Hecht told reporters. "We see this as sort of a deterring, stabilising factor in the region."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Washington was working "very aggressively" to dramatically expand the amount of aid reaching trapped civilians in Gaza.

The top US diplomat held 2.5 hours of one-on-one talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan focused on soothing the anger at both Israel and the West of one of Washington's most strategic but difficult allies.

NATO member Turkey has been an increasingly vocal critic of the way Israel has been pursuing its month-long offensive against Hamas militants who staged an October 7 attack into Israel -- the deadliest in the country's history.

Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of protesters who marched on an air base housing US forces in southeastern Turkey hours before Blinken's arrival Sunday.

Hundreds more rallied outside the Turkish foreign ministry during his visit.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself was travelling across Turkey's remote northeast on Monday in an apparent snub of Washington's top diplomat.

Blinken told reporters after the meeting that Washington was aware of "the deep concern" in Turkey "for the terrible toll" in Gaza.

"We are working, as I said, very aggressively on getting more humanitarian assistance into Gaza and we have very concrete ways of doing that," Blinken said before boarding a plane for Japan.

"I think we will see in the days ahead that the assistance can expand in significant ways," he added without providing details.

A Turkish diplomatic source said Fidan pressed Blinken for "an immediate ceasefire in Gaza".

"Fidan also pointed out to his US counterpart Blinken that bombing civilian targets and destroying infrastructure in Gaza is unacceptable," the Turkish source said.