JERUSALEM — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today the United States "will not abandon the innocent Palestinians in Gaza," shortly after Israel declared the territory to be an enemy entity to cut off power and fuel supplies to the coastal strip.

At the same time, Rice said Gaza, ruled by the Islamic militant Hamas group, "is a hostile entity to us as well."

Israel's Security Cabinet — the country's top political and defense ministers — did not set a date for a cutoff. A statement from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said Israel did not intend to provoke a humanitarian crisis.

Rice arrived today to mediate progress on key issues dividing Israel and the Palestinians before a U.S.-sponsored peace gathering. But even before she landed, Palestinian officials said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would ask her not to set a firm date for the peace conference until it is clear he and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert can agree upon a joint statement setting out their goals.

The conference tentatively is scheduled for Washington in November.

The Israeli Security Cabinet's declaration of Gaza as an "enemy entity" could become the most severe retaliatory measure Israel has taken recently against Palestinian rocket fire from the strip. Israel has been carrying out airstrikes and limited ground incursions. It also has sealed Gaza's borders, halting trade in and out of the area.

Impoverished Gaza's 1.4 million people are almost entirely dependent on Israeli suppliers for power and fuel, and a cutoff would draw international condemnation.