Washington:US President Joe Biden expressed concerns about the escalating conflict in the Gaza Strip in separate phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
During his call with Netanyahu, Biden on Saturday voiced concerns about violent confrontations in the West Bank and "shared his grave concern about the intercommunal violence across Israel", Xinhua news agency quoted a White House readout of the conversation.
He also raised concerns about "the safety and security of journalists and reinforced the need to ensure their protection", likely referring to an airstrike carried out by the Israeli military earlier in the day that destroyed a building housing international news organizations in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Biden "reaffirmed his strong support for Israel's right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza", said the readout.
Biden also held his first phone conversation with Abbas since he took office in January, in which he conveyed Washington's "commitment to strengthening the US-Palestinian partnership".
Read:Israel destroys Gaza tower housing international media offices
The two leaders discussed current tensions in Jerusalem and the West Bank and expressed their shared concern about the loss of civilian life in the ongoing violence, the White House said in a separate readout.
Biden emphasized to Abbas the need for Hamas to halt firing rockets into Israel.
He voiced his support for the two-state solution in speaking with both leaders.
The phone calls came amid escalating violence between the Israeli security forces and Palestinian militants.
Israeli fighter jets on Saturday bombed and demolished Jala Tower, a high-rise building in Gaza City housing Al-Jazeera TV and Associated Press (AP) offices, as well as residential apartments.