US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made frantic surprise trips Sunday to the occupied West Bank and then Iraq and Turkey as the Israel-Hamas war threatened to spread.

The Biden administration also sent CIA Director William Burns, an expert in the Middle East, on a multination tour in the area to meet with Arab leaders to discuss intelligence agreements. 

The US diplomatic and intelligence push came as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza spiraled into further chaos and Israeli bombs continued to rain Sunday on Gaza — including two refugee camps, killing dozens of people.

Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for about an hour in what was described by a Palestinian official as a tense, and ultimately failed, tet-a-tet in his government’s de facto capital of Ramallah.

“We need to see the US playing the role of an honest mediator, not adopting the Israeli narrative,” said the former Palestinian Authority rep to the US, Dr. Husam Zomlot, to CBS.

“We needed a grownup in the room, and that is the US. Unfortunately, we haven’t heard that,” added Zomlot, now the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, after the meeting.

One of Abbas’ major concerns during the talk was to establish an immediate cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas and to get more humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to rep Nabil Abu Rudeineh.

But while Blinken has been advocating for a “humanitarian pause” in the war, calling on Israel to halt its airstrikes in specific areas to allow fuel and live-saving supplies to reach Gaza’s more than 2 million residents, the US has refused to back calls for a cease-fire. 

Blinken also made an unannounced visit to Iraq, where he met with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Baghdad for more than an hour, CNN reported.

The top diplomat also stopped by the US Embassy there to be briefed on any threats to American facilities.

He then headed to Turkey to meet with officials there, CNN reported. Turkish President Recep Erdogan has slammed Israel for its strikes against Gaza.

Blinken — on what was his second trip to the region since Israel waged war on Hamas after the terror group’s surprise attack on Israel and slaughter of 1,400 people on Oct. 7. — had earlier assured Abbas that the US is committed to helping get more aid into Gaza and restoring essential services, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. 

But Blinken has argued that a cease-fire would only allow Hamas to regroup, putting not only Israel at risk but also the more than 200 hostages taken by the terrorist group.

For its part, Israel has not only rejected calls for a cease-fire but also repeatedly rebuffed Blinken’s plea for even a pause, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rebuking the idea after a meeting with the top US diplomat Friday.   

Netanyahu reiterated that there would be no cease-fire or pause until Hamas releases all its hostages. 

Meanwhile, Burns arrived in Israel on Sunday to visit key Israeli intelligence leaders after they received threats from Hamas, the New York Times reported.

Although his exact itinerary is unknown, Burns is likely to stop in Jordan, after King Abdullah II canceled a meeting with President Biden following an explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed many Palestinians. 

Burns has close ties with King Abdullah, who is set to continue calls from the Arab world for a cease-fire despite Netanyuahu’s rebukes. 

On Sunday, Netanyahu mocked Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, saying he “doesn’t care about his people.

“He behaves like a little Hitler in a bunker. His people are as interesting to him as a piece of garlic,” the PM said.  

Netanyahu’s comment came after Israeli warplanes hit two refugee camps in Gaza, killing at least 53 people and wounding dozens of others, health officials said. 

A house near a school at the Bureji refugee camp was hit by an Israeli airstrike, killing at least 13 people, according to a staffer at the Al-Aqsa Hospital. The camp is home to about 46,000 people and was hit Thursday as well.

Airstrikes also nailed the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza overnight, killing at least 40 and wounding 34 others. An Associated Press reporter saw eight dead children, including a baby, when the victims were brought in to a nearby hospital after the airstrike. 

Arafat Abu Mashaia, a refugee at the camp, said he witnessed the moment one of the Israeli planes leveled several multi-story homes.

“It was a true massacre,” he said while standing on the wreckage. “All here are peaceful people. I challenge anyone who says there were resistance [fighters] here.”

Israel did not immediately comment on the strikes but has said it has only been targeting areas known to be hiding Hamas terrorists.

With the situation in Gaza worsening, more than 300 Americans have fled the area “over the last several days,” White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” 

The revelation comes after officials warned last week that there were still about 400 Americans stuck in Gaza. 

As Israel continues to bombard and deploy troops deeper into the Palestinian enclave, Blinken urged Abbas to play a central role in what happens next in Gaza, a senior State Department official told Reuters. 

Blinken suggested an “effective and revitalized Palestinian Authority” would make for the ideal governors of Gaza, which has not had an election since Hamas came into power in 2006. 

“[The] future of Gaza was not the focus of the meeting but the Palestinian Authority seemed willing to play a role,” the State Department official added.

The US diplomat added that other nations and international agencies would also be playing a role in the security and operations of the Palestinian enclave in the meantime. 

“The secretary [of state] also expressed the commitment of the United States to working toward the realization of the Palestinians’ legitimate aspirations for the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Miller said.

It remains to be seen if Abbas’ Palestinian Authority has the people’s confidence to run Gaza, as its popularity has shriveled over allegations of graft, incompetence and unpopular cooperation agreements with Israel. 

It’s also unclear who will succeed Abbas, 87.

And while things heat up in Gaza, Israel has also launched an offensive in Lebanon, where the Hezbollah terrorist group operates. 

The IDF said it is targeting the source of anti-tank missiles launched from Lebanon toward the Kibbutz Yiftah. 

It comes as Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system intercepted a drone coming from Lebanon, where IDF soldiers engaged with enemy fighters.  

Meanwhile, the European Commission warned Sunday that “Jews today are again living in fear” during a surge in hateful incidents across the continent.  

Arab leaders and Pope Francis have recently called for a ceasefire given the unprecedented loss of life between Israelis and Palestinians in the last month. 

Gaza health officials said that nearly 9,500 Palestinians have been killed in the war so far.