An Israeli embassy worker in Beijing was attacked on Friday, Israel's foreign ministry said.

Video geolocated by AFP shows the man was stabbed on a street in the Chinese capital.

"An Israeli employee of the Israeli embassy in Beijing was attacked today," a foreign ministry statement said, adding that the attack did not take place at the embassy compound.

"The employee is being treated at hospital and is in stable condition," the statement said.

"The motive for the assault is being looked into."

Thousands of protesters poured onto the streets of several Middle East capitals Friday in support of Palestinians amid Israeli air strikes on Gaza in reprisal for a surprise Hamas attack.

"No to the occupation! No to America!" chanted demonstrators gathered in central Baghdad after Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr called for a protest "in support of Gaza" and against Israel, an AFP journalist reported.

"This rally is aimed at condemning what is happening in occupied Palestine, the bloodletting and the violation of rights," said Abu Kayan, an organiser of the protest.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Friday on Israel to limit Palestinian civilian deaths as he worked to set up safe areas in the Gaza Strip, seeking to keep calm in the Arab world following a major Hamas attack.

After a solidarity visit to Tel Aviv, Blinken, on a six-nation tour of the Arab world, again defended Israel's right to respond but also stepped up the tone on protecting innocent Palestinians.

"We have urged the Israelis to use every possible precaution to avoid harm to civilians," Blinken told a news conference in Qatar.

Hearing firsthand from Israeli survivors of the massive Hamas assault, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken experienced a rare scene for a diplomat: a cheering crowd.

During his 12-hour visit to Tel Aviv, Blinken declared, "The United States has Israel's back", a sentiment ordinary Israelis demonstrated was mutual, showing gratitude to their country's main ally.

Blinken's motorcade made a last-minute stop at the underground parking lot that has been turned into a makeshift donation hub after Israel's deadliest day in decades.

The United Nations on Thursday issued an emergency appeal for $294 million to address "the most urgent needs" in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where more than 400,000 Palestinians have fled their homes in recent days.

The funds would be used to help more than 1.2 million people, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, adding that recent fighting in the region had left aid groups without adequate resources.

Yossi Landau has spent decades collecting corpses in Israel, but he almost reached breaking point recovering the remains of people killed by Gaza militants in the country's deadliest assault.

Landau woke to the sounds of sirens on Saturday, a moment he had become "used to" as Israelis took shelter from incoming rocket fire.

It was not until later that he realised the launches were "only a cover up, because the main part is the invasion" by Hamas militants, who swept across the Gaza border to kill an estimated 1,200 people.

Hundreds of Hollywood celebrities signed an open letter Thursday condemning the "barbaric acts" of Hamas fighters who murdered and abducted Israeli civilians in a shocking weekend assault.

"Wonder Woman" actress Gal Gadot, an Israeli, was among film and TV stars on the list, which also included Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Pine, Mayim Bialik, Liev Schreiber, Michael Douglas and Jerry Seinfeld.

"Hamas murdered and kidnapped innocent men, women, and children. They kidnapped and murdered infants and the elderly," the open letter, released by Creative Community For Peace, said.

Israel has throughout its history been targeted by hostage-taking in standoffs resolved by both force and diplomacy, but the mass seizure of citizens by Palestinian militant group Hamas presents the authorities with an unprecedented quandary.

Estimates point to around 150 women, children and men being held by Hamas in its Gaza stronghold after its attack on Israel on Saturday. Some who say their loved ones are in mortal have posted images on social media.

The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court on Monday applied for arrest warrants against three top leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas whose bloody October 7 attack triggered the ongoing war.

Karim Khan also said he was applying for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Here is what we know about the three Palestinians that ICC prosecutor Karim Khan wants arrested.

- Ismail Haniyeh, the politician:

US President Joe Biden condemned Donald Trump on Thursday for describing Hezbollah as "very smart" even as the Lebanese militant group exchanges fire with Israel following the Hamas attack on the US ally.

During a campaign speech in Florida, Trump also falsely accused the Biden administration of bankrolling the Hamas assault as a result of a prisoner exchange deal with Iran, which has historically funded Hamas and Hezbollah.