Israeli airstrikes and tank fire pounded eastern Gaza City overnight, killing at least 11 people, according to witnesses and medics, as Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya arrived in Cairo for talks aimed at reviving a U.S.-backed cease-fire plan.
The latest round of indirect negotiations in Qatar broke down in late July, with Israel and Hamas exchanging blame over stalled progress on a U.S. proposal for a 60-day truce and a hostage release agreement.
Since then, Israel has announced plans for a new offensive to retake Gaza City, which it initially captured shortly after the conflict erupted in October 2023 before withdrawing.
Hamas’ meetings with Egyptian officials, scheduled to begin Wednesday, will focus on ways to stop the war, deliver aid, and “end the suffering of our people in Gaza,” Hamas official Taher al-Nono said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to expand military control over Gaza, expected to be launched in October, has fueled global outcry over the widespread devastation, displacement, and hunger afflicting Gaza’s 2.2 million residents.
It has also stirred criticism within Israel, with the military chief of staff warning the offensive could endanger surviving hostages and pose a death trap for Israeli soldiers. The plan has raised fears of further displacement and hardship among the estimated 1 million Palestinians in the Gaza City region.
Foreign ministers from 24 countries, including Britain, Canada, Australia, France, and Japan, said Tuesday that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza had reached “unimaginable levels” and urged Israel to allow unrestricted aid into the enclave.
Israel denies responsibility for the hunger in Gaza, accusing Hamas of diverting aid. It says it has taken steps to increase deliveries, including pausing fighting for parts of the day in some areas and announcing protected routes for aid convoys.
A Palestinian official with knowledge of the mediated cease-fire talks said Hamas was prepared to return to negotiations, and the leaders visiting Cairo on Tuesday would reaffirm that stance.
“Hamas believes negotiation is the only way to end the war and is open to discussing any ideas that would secure an end to the war,” the official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
However, the gaps between the sides appear wide on key issues, including the extent of any Israeli military withdrawal and demands for Hamas to disarm.
A Hamas official told Reuters on Tuesday that the group was willing to relinquish governance of Gaza to a nonpartisan committee but would not surrender its weapons until a Palestinian state is established.
Netanyahu, whose far-right ultranationalist coalition allies advocate an outright Israeli takeover of Gaza, has vowed the war will not end until Hamas is eradicated.
On Tuesday, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that 89 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours.
Witnesses and medics said Israeli bombardments overnight killed seven people in two houses in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood and another four in an apartment building in the city center.
In southern Gaza, five people, including a couple and their child, were killed by an Israeli airstrike on a house in Khan Younis, and four others died in a strike on a tent encampment in nearby coastal Mawasi, medics said.
The Israeli military said it was investigating the latest bombardment reports and that its forces take precautions to minimize civilian harm.
Separately, it said its troops had killed dozens of Hamas members in northern Gaza over the past month and destroyed more tunnels used by the group in the area.
Five more people, including two children, have died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the territory’s Health Ministry said.
The deaths bring the total from such causes to 227, including 103 children, since the war began.
Israel disputes the malnutrition figures reported by the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave.
The war began Oct. 7, 2023, following Hamas' incursion into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.
