The death toll from Israel-Gaza fighting keeps climbing as more countries call for a cease-fire

• Attacks between Israel and Gaza continued on Wednesday, with more than 200 people now dead.
• Israel launched airstrikes and militants in Gaza fired rockets.
• Countries are calling for a cease-fire. Biden said he supported one but blocked a UN statement.

Israel and Gazan militants continued to exchange violence, rockets, and missiles on Wednesday, despite growing international calls for a cease-fire.

Medical officials in Gaza said that 219 people have been killed in Gaza since May 10, while Israel said that 12 people there have been killed, Reuters reported. The deaths included dozens of Palestinian children, according to relief organizations.

Tensions between Israel and Hamas have flared since May 10, with Israel launching airstrikes and militants in Gaza firing rockets.

Countries like France, Egypt, and Jordan are calling for a cease-fire.

But on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was no timeframe for a cease-fire, telling reporters: "We're not standing with a stopwatch. We are taking care of the operation's objectives," according to The Times of Israel.

President Joe Biden and US officials have been privately urging Israel to wind down its operations, the Associated Press and Politico reported.

On Monday, Biden publicly expressed support for a cease-fire but the US blocked a UN Security Council statement that would have condemned the violence and called for a cease-fire.