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Israel intensified strikes across Gaza City ahead of a planned push to reassert full control, with 123 people reported dead in the last 24 hours, according to Gaza's health ministry. It was the highest daily toll in a week. The surge in violence coincided with fresh talks in Cairo between Hamas representatives and Egyptian mediators on a possible ceasefire.
Residents described overnight bombardments in the Zeitoun and Shejaiya districts that flattened homes. Al-Ahli hospital reported at least 12 deaths from a strike on a house in Zeitoun. In the south, tanks shelled the outskirts of Khan Younis, and in central Gaza, Palestinian medics said Israeli fire killed nine people gathered near aid distribution points. The reports could not be independently verified. The health ministry also said eight more people, including three children, died from hunger-related causes in the past day, pushing its cumulative tally of such deaths above two hundred since the war began — a figure Israel disputes.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a television interview, reiterated that Palestinians who wish to leave should be permitted to do so, remarks that drew criticism from foreign governments alarmed by mass displacement and hunger. The Israel Defense Forces said operations are aimed at militants embedded in dense urban areas, and that "tactical pauses" are intended to facilitate aid convoys. The military said nearly 320 trucks entered Gaza on Wednesday via the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings, and that a similar number were collected and distributed by U.N. international agencies.
Hamas official Taher al-Nono said chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya's meetings in Cairo focused on stopping the war, delivering aid, and easing civilian suffering. Egyptian security sources said ideas for a comprehensive ceasefire and arrangements for Gaza's administration are under discussion. A Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the group would consider proposals if Israel ends the war and withdraws, while rejecting any precondition to disarm.
Israeli officials say a ground move into Gaza City could still be weeks away, even as strikes intensify across the enclave's north and center in the coming days.
