US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday on another Middle East tour to push for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Hamas said it holds Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for "thwarting the mediators' efforts", delaying an agreement.

On his ninth trip to the region since the war began in October, Blinken will meet on Monday with senior Israeli leaders including Netanyahu, a senior State Department official said.

After Israel, Blinken will continue onto Egypt.

The talks to strike a deal for a truce and return of hostages held in Gaza were now at an "inflection point", a senior Biden administration official told reporters en route to Tel Aviv. "We think this is a critical time," the official said.

The mediating countries - Qatar, the United States and Egypt - have so far failed to narrow enough differences to reach an agreement in months of on-off negotiations, and violence continued unabated in Gaza on Sunday.