White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt said Thursday that US President Donald Trump "fully supports" Israel's intensified bombing campaign and renewed ground incursion into Gaza, which have killed at least 200 children since Tuesday.

"The president made it clear to Hamas that if they did not release all the hostages, there would be a heavy price to pay," Levitt told reporters. "Unfortunately, Hamas chose to play with people's lives in the media."

The United States and Israel blame Hamas for the failure to maintain the ceasefire and release the hostages. Israel has repeatedly violated the agreement signed last January and refused to move to the second stage, which would have led to the release of all Israeli prisoners, a permanent truce, and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Levitt added that President Trump "fully supports Israel, the IDF, and the actions they have taken in recent days."

US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce confirmed on Wednesday, in response to a question from a Jerusalem correspondent, that the administration supports Israel unconditionally. Bruce said that the United States "will stand with Israel under all circumstances."

When asked about the devastating child casualties in Israeli bombing, Bruce responded by blaming Hamas. "It's unfortunate that Hamas allowed this to happen, but look at those who facilitated this suffering in the first place," she said.

Bruce claimed that the administration wants peace, but President Trump has encouraged Netanyahu and his government with massive military aid and his repeated calls for the permanent expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, rather than pressuring Israel to implement the agreement it signed last January.

Israeli military vehicles advanced into the western areas of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip, on Friday morning, amidst gunfire and artillery shelling of the area.

Witnesses reported that Israeli tanks advanced into the area, firing heavily and shelling the city, which has suffered extensive destruction during the ongoing war of extermination.