Israel-Gaza updates: Netanyahu says war to continue 'on all fronts'

Speaking at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the scenes in the war-torn Gaza Strip as "gut-wrenching" and said Palestinians need a state of their own but must "work with Israel to be effective."

Blinken said the Palestinian Authority, which exercises partial civil control over areas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, could lead such a state but only "with the help of Israel, not with its active opposition."

"The question now is, is Israeli society prepared to engage on these? Is it prepared to have that mindset?" Blinken asked. "You're not going to get the genuine security you need absent that [Palestinian state]."

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti and Morgan Winsor

The Israel Defense Forces said early Wednesday that it has killed a top Palestinian militant in an airstrike in the occupied West Bank, averting "an imminent, large-scale terrorist attack" he was allegedly planning.

Ahmed Abdullah Abu Shalal and members of his terrorist cell were "eliminated in a precision airstrike" at the Balata refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, according to the IDF. It was unclear exactly how many individuals were killed in the strike.

"Abdullah was responsible for carrying out a number of terrorist attacks over the last year, including the shooting attack in the Shimon HaTzadik neighborhood in Jerusalem last April during which two Jerusalem residents were injured," the IDF said in a statement. "Additionally, he was responsible for the bombing attack against IDF soldiers last October during which a soldier was injured."

"Under Abdullah's leadership, the terrorist infrastructure in the Balata camp in Nablus has received funding and guidance from Iranian sources who are in cooperation with terrorist headquarters in both the Gaza Strip and abroad," the IDF added.

-ABC News' Dana Savir and Morgan Winsor

Itay Svirsky, 35, and Yossi Sharabi, 53 -- two hostages who appeared in a video released by Hamas earlier this week -- have been confirmed dead, according to Kibbutz Be'eri.

"Their bodies are in the hands of Hamas, we will demand their return with the rest of our abductees," Kibbutz Be'eri, one of the communities attacked by the terrorist group on Oct. 7, said in a statement on Tuesday. "Our hearts are with the families in their immense pain. May they rest in peace."

Svirsky was at his parents' home in the kibbutz when he was abducted, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Hamas released a video on Sunday showing the two men, as well as 26-year-old Noa Argamani, while calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war on Gaza.

Following the release of the hostage video, the IDF said they told the men's families that "there is grave concern for their lives" and denied Hamas' claims that Israeli forces shot Svirsky.

Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi said Tuesday that Israel is creating hurdles to the entry of aid into the war-torn Gaza Strip.

Jordan is working in coordination with the United Nations to deliver aid to Gaza, but only 10% of the total needs of the more than 2 million Palestinians who live there are currently being met, according to Safadi.

"The reality now is that Israeli measures are preventing sufficient aid from arriving and only a fraction is being delivered," Safadi said during a press conference in Amman.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky and Morgan Winsor