National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, explaining what Secretary of State Antony Blinken meant earlier when he said there would be a "transitional period" in Gaza, said a post-war Gaza will go through a "period of time" where Israeli forces remain on the ground.

"I think all of us can foresee a period of time after the conflict is over where Israeli forces will likely still be in Gaza and will have some initial security responsibilities. But for how long and where and to what size and scale and scope, I think it’s too soon to know that," he said on CNN.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News "World News Tonight" anchor David Muir that Israel would have the "overall security responsibility" of Gaza for an "indefinite period."

-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders on Monday and reiterated to them that the "U.S. has Israel's back in this dark hour."

Schumer said he told Netanyahu that they must work to protect Palestinian lives, and said he urged Israeli leaders to stop the settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.

Israel has "a responsibility to protect innocent Palestinian civilian life. We know this is not easy, but it must be done," Schumer said. "We must likewise work together to send critical humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in Gaza who have nothing to do with Hamas."

"I also strongly urge the Israeli government to quickly clamp down on settler violence against and displacement of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. Violence and displacement against these Palestinian civilians is not just wrong -- it risks spreading the current crisis beyond Gaza at a time when Israel and America are working hard to deter other actors from taking advantage of the situation," Schumer said.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said 92 of its employees have now been killed in Gaza, the highest number ever seen in a single conflict.

"We are never going to be the same without them," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said. "Once again I call for a cease-fire for the sake of humanity."

A civilian evacuation corridor from northern Gaza to southern Gaza opened again on Wednesday.

"Due to the substantial response," the corridor was open for an extra hour, running from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. instead of ending at 2 p.m., "allowing many more Gazans to move south for their safety," the Israel Defense Forces said.

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed Monday the possibility of "tactical pauses" in strikes on Gaza to help civilians reach safer locations, allow for more humanitarian aid to get in and help work toward the possibility of hostages being released, according to the White House.

"We consider ourselves at the beginning of this conversation, not at the end of it, so you can expect that we're going to continue to advocate for temporary vocalized pauses in the fighting," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

He said less than 30 trucks of humanitarian assistance arrived in Gaza over the past 24 hours, which he said wasn't enough.

“In the early goings here, Israel was very resistant to humanitarian assistance getting in at all, and we persisted. We continue to persist," Kirby said. "Humanitarian aid is getting in, again, not to the degree we want it to, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. But, but, my goodness, based on our constant engagement, we've been able to make a big difference."

Kirby said "more Americans" will be leaving Gaza on Monday but he did not provide specific numbers.

Kirby said Biden and Netanyahu also discussed the situation in the West Bank and "reducing threats from terrorist groups that are operating there."

Kirby said their talks would continue and the leaders agreed to speak "in the coming day."

-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez