Gaza City
\nIsrael announced on Saturday that its military had completed the takeover of a new corridor in southern Gaza, advancing its efforts to seize large parts of the war-battered Palestinian territory.
\nThe announcement from Defense Minister Israel Katz came as Hamas expected \u201creal progress\u201d toward a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, with senior leaders from the Palestinian movement scheduled to hold talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Saturday.
\n\u201cThe IDF (military) has now completed its takeover of the Morag axis, which crosses Gaza between Rafah and Khan Yunis, turning the entire area between the Philadelphi Route (along the border with Egypt) and Morag into part of the Israeli security zone,\u201d Katz said in a statement addressed to residents of Gaza.
\n\u201cSoon, IDF (military) operations will intensify and expand to other areas throughout most of Gaza, and you will need to evacuate the combat zones.
\nHope of \u2018real progress\u2019
\nSince a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in mid-March, Israel\u2019s renewed offensive in Gaza has displaced hundreds of thousands of people while the military has seized large areas of the war-battered territory.
\nTop Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have repeatedly said that the ongoing assault aims to pressure Hamas into freeing the remaining hostages held in Gaza.
\nHamas on Saturday said that the offensive not only \u201ckills defenseless civilians but also makes the fate of the occupation\u2019s prisoners (hostages) uncertain.\u201d
\nKatz\u2019s announcements came ahead of a meeting between Hamas and Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Saturday.
\nThe scheduled talks also came days after US President Donald Trump suggested an agreement to secure the release of hostages was close to being finalized.
\nA Hamas official told AFP that the group anticipated the meeting in Cairo would yield significant progress.
\n\u201cWe hope the meeting will achieve real progress toward reaching an agreement to end the war, halt the aggression and ensure the full withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza,\u201d the official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations said on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
\nAccording to the official, Hamas has not yet received any new ceasefire proposals, despite Israeli media reports suggesting that Israel and Egypt had exchanged draft documents outlining a potential ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
\n\u201cHowever, contacts and discussions with mediators are ongoing,\u201d he added, accusing Israel of \u201ccontinuing its aggression\u201d in Gaza.
\nThe Times of Israel reported that Egypt\u2019s proposal would involve the release of eight living hostages and eight bodies, in exchange for a truce lasting between 40 and 70 days and a substantial release of Palestinian prisoners.<\/p>\n
Projectiles fired
\nPresident Trump said during a cabinet meeting this week that \u201cwe\u2019re getting close to getting them (hostages in Gaza) back.\u201d
\nTrump\u2019s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was also quoted in an Israeli media report as saying \u201ca very serious deal is taking shape, it\u2019s a matter of days.\u201d
\nSince Israel resumed its Gaza strikes, more than 1,500 people have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory to which Israel cut off aid more than a month ago.
\nDozens of these strikes have killed \u201conly women and children,\u201d according to a report by UN human rights office.
\nThe report also warned that expanding Israeli evacuation orders were resulting in the \u201cforcible transfer\u201d of people into ever-shrinking areas, raising \u201creal concern as to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in Gaza.\u201d
\nGaza\u2019s civil defense agency reported an Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza City on Saturday morning.
\nAFP footage of the aftermath of the strike showed the bodies of four men, wrapped in white shrouds, at a local hospital, while several individuals gathered to offer prayers before the funeral.
\nThe Israeli military, meanwhile, said its air force intercepted three projectiles that were identified as crossing into Israeli territory from southern Gaza on Saturday.
\nThe war in Gaza broke out after Hamas\u2019s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. It resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
\nGaza\u2019s health ministry said on Friday that at least 1,563 Palestinians had been killed since March 18 when the ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,933.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gaza City Israel announced on Saturday that its military had completed the takeover of a new corridor in southern Gaza, advancing its efforts to seize large parts of the war-battered Palestinian territory. The announcement from Defense Minister Israel Katz came as Hamas expected \u201creal progress\u201d toward a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472184,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-472158","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n