WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden said he had told the Israelis to stop “inter-communal fighting” in Jerusalem, and pledged to help organise efforts to rebuild Gaza.

He also stressed “we still need a two-state solution. It is the only answer, the only answer.”

“I believe we have a genuine opportunity to make progress and I'm committed to working towards it,” Biden said.

The European Union echoed his call for a two-state solution to the conflict.

The US State Department said top diplomat Antony Blinken would “meet with Israeli, Palestinian and regional counterparts in the coming days to discuss recovery efforts and working together to build better futures for Israelis and Palestinians”.

Russia and China called for a return to peace talks, and UN chief Antonio Guterres said Israel and the Palestinians must now have “a serious dialogue to address the root causes of the conflict”. He too called for “robust” reconstruction aid.

The violence began in Jerusalem, sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians.

Its holy sites have sparked many of the worst episodes violence in the region. On May 10, an Israeli police attack on Palestinian worshippers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound prompted Hamas to launch rockets into the Jewish state.

Israel's military responded with air strikes on what it described as military targets in Gaza — though Palestinian and international groups have accused it of recklessly hitting non-military sites in the densely populated strip.

Israel says it makes efforts to avoid civilian casualties, including by phoning residents to warn them of imminent strikes, but a majority of those killed by its bombardment were innocent civilians.

It blames Hamas for placing military sites in densely populated areas.