Israel sending ceasefire negotiators to Cairo for more talks

Jerusalem (AP):

Israel will send a delegation to Cairo for further talks with mediators on a proposed deal with Hamas for a ceasefire and hostage release, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday.

Israel has been pressing ahead with a fresh offensive across the north, south and centre of Gaza, killing dozens of Palestinians in recent days. This could be aimed at increasing pressure on Gaza’s Hamas militant group during ceasefire negotiations. The Israeli military urged all Palestinians to leave Gaza City and head south Wednesday. The United Nations says about 300,000 Palestinians were still in hard-hit northern Gaza, with the bulk of those said to be in Gaza City.

Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas’ October 7 attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and abducted about 250. Since then, Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 38,300 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. It does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.

Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are crammed into squalid tent camps in central and southern Gaza. Israeli restrictions, fighting and the breakdown of law and order have limited humanitarian aid efforts, causing widespread hunger and sparking fears of famine. The top United Nations court has ordered Israel to take steps to protect Palestinians as it examines genocide allegations against Israeli leaders. Israel denies the charge.