Biden, who was joined on the call by Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, also emphasized the "ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region," the White House said in a statement.

"I can't tell you what this means. I can tell you that the imperative of getting a ceasefire, the importance that that has for everyone, remains," Blinken said in an interview with Channel NewsAsia in Singapore.

"That was violence, a murder that is intolerable, and took place in the sovereign area of Iran," he said. "I suppose all, including Indonesia, strongly condemn violence and murder like that."

"The criminal assassination of leader Haniyeh in the heart of the Iranian capital is a watershed and dangerous event that takes the war to new levels and will have enormous consequences for the entire region," the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, whose fighters are engaged in fierce battles with Israeli troops in Gaza, said in a statement.

Qatar, which hosts Hamas's political leadership that included Haniyeh, said the killing was a "dangerous escalation", adding that it was "a flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law".

The strike -- which Iraqi sources said left at least four people dead -- was the first by American forces in Iraq since February, when the US military said it killed a pro-Iran commander who was involved in attacks on the country's troops.

But despite the rhetoric, he was seen by many diplomats as a moderate compared to the more hardline members of the Iran-backed group inside Gaza. 

The Islamist faction mourned the death of Haniyeh, who it said was killed in "a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran".

Since the start of the Gaza war, Shukr directed Hezbollah's attacks on Israel, the military said.

The dispute, dating back to 1975, pits Morocco, which says the Western Sahara is its territory, against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which says it is an independent state.

Cranes and heavy equipment seem to be everywhere in the North African kingdom as it aims to reposition itself as the continent's global investment and trade hub.

"Any ignorant action of the Zionist regime can lead to the broadening of the scope of instability, insecurity and war in the region," said foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani. 

"If they do 'assassinate President Trump,' which is always a possibility, I hope that America obliterates Iran, wipes it off the face of the Earth — If that does not happen, American Leaders will be considered 'gutless' cowards!" he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

"Palestinian children are slaughtered every day by the Tel Aviv butcher, and in the face of all these crimes, the American government and Congress are welcoming this executioner with applause," said Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani in a post on X.

Indonesia has hailed the Beijing-led declaration on unity among Palestinian factions as a step in the right direction while Israel immediately blasted the deal, though analysts are yet to determine its significance.

Netanyahu will also meet Vice President Kamala Harris -- the likely new Democratic presidential nominee -- at the White House on Thursday, one day after he gave a speech to the US Congress vowing "total victory" against Hamas. 

The Foreign Ministry has condemned efforts by the Israeli parliament to label United Nations relief agency UNRWA, the main provider of aid for Palestinians in Gaza, a terrorist organization.

Any involvement by the Islamist militant group in the post-war governance of Gaza is anathema to the United States as well as Israel. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who hosted senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzuk, Fatah envoy Mahmud al-Aloul and emissaries from 12 other Palestinian groups, said they had agreed to set up an "interim national reconciliation government" to govern post-war Gaza.

Indonesia said on Monday that it would use the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion against Israeli presence in occupied Palestinian territories as a “momentum” to intensify its pro-Palestine diplomacy, amid worries that the nonbinding ruling will do little to remedy the conflict.

Indonesia called on Israel on Sunday to end its “unlawful presence” in the occupied Palestinian territories immediately and cease any activities to expand Israeli settlements there, in the wake of a historic ruling by the United Nations’ top court.

Indonesia has welcomed a recent ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that called on Israel to end its occupation of Palestine, with Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi calling the decision a significant affirmation that international law is on Palestine’s side.

The advisory opinion by The Hague-based International Court of Justice was immediately slammed as a "decision of lies" by Israel, but welcomed by the Palestinian presidency, which called it "historic".

The International Court of Justice also demanded the immediate release of all hostages still held by Palestinian militants, hours after the Israeli military announced troops had recovered the bodies of three more of the captives from northern Gaza.

Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the three air strikes killed at least 44 people and wounded dozens within an hour across the war-torn Palestinian territory. Israel confirmed it carried out two of the strikes.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf has apologized on behalf of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization following the recent meeting of its activists with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, claiming that the visit was unbeknownst to them and broke NU regulations on event permission.

The Foreign Ministry has said that the visit made by five young Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) activists to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem was not by any means representative of Indonesia’s official stance.

It was unclear whether Deif was killed. "We are still checking and verifying the results of the strike," an Israeli military official told reporters.  

In her opening speech at a cross-religious conference on Wednesday, the Foreign Minister said the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza was not a religious conflict and emphasized that religious diversity was an asset in peace advocacy.

The latest update to Meta's policy regarding use of the word "Zionist" comes as the tech titan behind Facebook and Instagram strives to balance free speech with hateful attacks on Jews.