Israel-Gaza live updates: Sirens sound in Tel Aviv as Hamas fires rocket from Gaza

Journalist Ibrahim Muhareb was killed by an Israeli airstrike while on duty in the Khan Younis area on Sunday, his employer, the online newspaper BDN, said in a statement.

A video filmed by Muhareb's friend and colleague, Abdallah Alattar, showed the moment the journalist’s body -- his press vest laid on top of him -- arrived at Nasser Hospital after being found in Hamad Town early on Monday morning.

Muhareb had been covering the events in western Khan Younis with other colleagues when they were targeted, BDN said.

"His traces were lost after occupation artillery targeted a group of journalists in the place yesterday," BDN said in a statement, adding that Muhareb had been working regularly with them throughout the war while also freelancing for others.

As of Aug. 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists' preliminary investigations showed at least 113 journalists and media workers have been killed since the war began, making it the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992. Of those killed, 108 were Palestinian, two were Israeli and three were Lebanese.

Palestinian journalists strongly protested what they say is the deliberate targeting of the media and the lack of support from international colleagues on July 31, following the killing of Al Jazeera's Ismail Al-Ghoul and Rami Al Refee by an Israeli strike while they were working in Gaza City. Israel alleges that Al-Ghoul was a member of Hamas, an allegation that the network denied.

"Even before the start of the Israel-Gaza war, CPJ had documented Israel’s pattern of accusing journalists of being terrorists without producing credible evidence to substantiate their claims," said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna. "Smear campaigns endanger journalists and erode public trust in the media. Israel must end this practice and allow independent international investigations into the journalists' killings."

-ABC News' Camilla Alcini

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for three hours on Monday, Netanyahu’s press office said in a release.

The meeting was "positive and was held in a good atmosphere," the release said.

"The meeting lasted approximately three hours. The Prime Minister reiterated Israel's commitment to the current American proposal on the release of our hostages, which takes into account Israel's security needs, which he strongly insists on," the release said.

Blinken also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday, according to the U.S. State Department.

"The Secretary reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region," a spokesperson for the State Department said in a statement. "The Secretary reiterated the urgent need to finalize the ceasefire agreement that would release the hostages, allow a surge of humanitarian assistance, and create the conditions for broader regional stability."

Blinken is expected to head to El Alamein, Egypt, on Tuesday for additional meetings.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Tel Aviv on Monday morning as President Joe Biden’s administration presses for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Blinken touched down in Israel on Sunday night, beginning his ninth visit to the Middle East since Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel sparked the current conflict.

"The focus of my visit is intensely on getting the hostages back, getting the cease-fire done," Blinken said. "It is time for everyone to get to 'yes' and to not look for any excuses to say 'no.'"

Blinken said that he was working to make sure there was "no escalation...no provocations...no actions that in any way could move us away from getting this deal over the line, or, for that matter, escalating the conflict to other places and to greater intensity."

Reaffirming support for Israel, Blinken said, "As you heard [Herzog] say, the United States has taken decisive action to deploy forces here to deter any attacks, and if necessary, to defend against any attacks."

Herzog said that in the last 24 hours, they have witnessed "ongoing terror attacks by Palestinian terrorists."

"This is the way we are living these days. We are surrounded by terror from four corners of the Earth, and we are fighting back as a resilient and strong nation," Herzog said.

Herzog said that hostage negotiations have been held up by Hamas' "adamant refusal to move forward," but that Israel is "very hopeful" to continue working on a deal. The president then thanked the U.S., Egypt and Qatar for their role as mediators.

-ABC News’ Lauren Minore

As cease-fire talks are set to begin again in Cairo this week, Hamas said it fears Israel will put up more "obstacles" that could prevent them from reaching an agreement with Israel.

In a statement Sunday, Hamas leaders accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of putting "more conditions and obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement, in a way that serves his strategy to gain time and prolong the aggression."

"We hold Netanyahu fully responsible for thwarting the mediators' efforts, obstructing reaching an agreement, and fully responsible for the lives of his prisoners who are exposed to the same danger that our people are exposed to, as a result of his continued aggression and systematic targeting of all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip," Hamas said in the statement.