Gaza conflict: Kerry will attempt to broker ceasefire between Israel, Hamas

The State Department said Kerry would leave early Monday for Egypt where he will join diplomatic efforts to resume a truce that had been agreed to in November 2012. In a statement Sunday evening, department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.S. and its international partners were "deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation, and the loss of more innocent life."

The Obama administration has toned down its earlier rebuke of Israel for attacks on the Gaza Strip that have killed civilians, including children, although both President Barack Obama and Kerry expressed concern about the rising death toll.

Sunday saw more than 70 Palestinians killed and 13 Israeli soldiers in the fiercest battle to date in Israel's ongoing ground offensive in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is set to travel to the region in an attempt to help broker a ceasefire amid growing international concern over civilian casualties. (Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters)

Hamas rejects Cairo-brokered ceasefire

The U.S. will urge the militant Palestinian group to accept a ceasefire agreement that would halt nearly two weeks of fighting with Israel. More than 430 Palestinians and 20 Israelis have been killed in that time.

Two Americans who fought for the Israel Defense Forces were killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip — Max Steinberg, 24 of California and Nissim Carmeli of Texas. The State Department's Psaki confirmed the names of the two U.S. citizens.

Cairo has offered a ceasefire plan that is backed by the U.S. and Israel. But Hamas has rejected the Egyptian plan and is relying on governments in Qatar and Turkey for an alternative proposal. Qatar and Turkey have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is also linked to Hamas but banned in Egypt.

Making the rounds of Sunday television news shows, Kerry pointed to Hamas' role in the violence.

"It's ugly. War is ugly, and bad things are going to happen," Kerry told ABC's This Week. But, he added, Hamas needs "to recognize their own responsibility."

UN chief arrives in region

Both Obama and Kerry said Israel has a right to defend itself against frequent rocket attacks by Hamas from the Gaza Strip. Kerry accused Hamas of attempting to sedate and kidnap Israelis through a network of tunnels that militants have used to stage cross-border raids.

He said on CNN's State of the Union that Hamas must "step up and show a level of reasonableness, and they need to accept the offer of a ceasefire."

Then, Kerry said, "we will certainly discuss all of the issues relevant to the underlying crisis."

The nearly two-week conflict appeared to be escalating as UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in the region to try to revive ceasefire efforts.

Obama, in a telephone call Sunday, told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Kerry was coming to the Mideast and condemned Hamas' attacks, according to a White House statement.