Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed US secretary of state Antony Blinken, saying his visit constituted “another tangible example of America’s unequivocal support for Israel”.

Netanyahu told reporters on Thursday: “Hamas is Isis, and just as Isis was crushed, so will, too, Hamas.”

“No country should harbour them, no leader should meet them,” he added. “Many difficult days ahead but I have no doubt the forces of civilisation shall win.”

Blinken condemned Hamas’s “litany of brutality” and vowed to replenish Israel’s anti-rocket system Iron Dome.

“Israel has the right — indeed, the obligation — to defend itself” and ensure this never happens again, Blinken said, adding Hamas’s sole objective is “to destroy Israel and to murder Jews”.