Israeli soldiers are seen along the Israeli-Gaza border, southern Israel, Dec 19, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

JERUSALEM/DAMASCUS/GAZA - Israeli President Issac Herzog said on Tuesday that his country is ready for another humanitarian ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages.

"I can reiterate the fact that Israel is ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release of hostages," Herzog told a group of foreign ambassadors during a briefing on the current situation of the Israel-Hamas conflict, adding the responsibility "lies fully with" Hamas.

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian emphasized the urgent need to halt the Israeli military operation and deliver essential humanitarian aid to the enclave

Chief of Israel's Mossad spy agency David Barnea held a meeting in Poland on Monday with the Director of US Central Intelligence Agency William Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss a potential new hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, Israeli media reported.

READ MORE: US defense secretary visits Israel, urging more aid to reach Gaza

Also on Tuesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian condemned the intensifying Israeli military operation in Gaza, the state news agency SANA reported.

In a phone conversation, both ministers expressed grave concern about the escalating situation in Palestine, particularly the Gaza Strip, and condemned "the continuous Israeli and Western aggression against the Palestinian people," the report said.

They also regretted the loss of nearly 20,000 lives in Gaza, emphasizing the urgent need to halt the Israeli military operation and deliver essential humanitarian aid to the enclave, according to the report.

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From Nov 24 to Nov 30, Israel and Hamas observed a seven-day ceasefire after the mediation of Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. During the ceasefire, several batches of Israeli hostages in Gaza were released in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel and the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip.

Israel and Hamas resumed military operations immediately after the ceasefire collapsed on Dec 1.

Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Dec 19, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

Palestinian toll nears 20,000

The death toll of Palestinians from Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 19,667, and 52,586 others were wounded since Oct 7, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

Al-Qedra stressed that hospitals in southern Gaza are "powerless in the face of the huge numbers of infections and are trying to differentiate between cases to save their lives with the limited clinical, medical and human capabilities available"

Meanwhile, Palestinian deaths and injuries from Israeli raids in the West Bank climbed to 301 and 3,365, respectively, according to the ministry.

READ MORE: Intensified Gaza bombardment raises urgent calls for ceasefire

In Gaza, over the past 24 hours, 214 Palestinians were killed, and 300 others injured in Israel's raids, while a large number of victims were still under the rubble, Ashraf Al-Qedra, Health Ministry spokesman, said at a press conference held in the southern Gaza Strip.

Al-Qedra accused the Israeli army of destroying hospitals in northern Gaza Strip and putting them out of service.

He said the moves would displace 800,000 people and deprive thousands of wounded, pregnant women, children, and chronic patients of health services.

ALSO READ: UN Security Council anticipates key vote on Gaza aid access

Al-Qedra stressed that hospitals in southern Gaza are "powerless in the face of the huge numbers of infections and are trying to differentiate between cases to save their lives with the limited clinical, medical and human capabilities available."

Since Oct 7, Israel has been launching a large-scale war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's unprecedented attack on southern Israel, which claimed the lives of about 1,200 Israelis, according to the Israeli authorities.