Palestinians displaced by fighting in the Gaza Strip crowded onto the seashore as Israeli forces continued to battle Hamas fighters in central and southern areas, with health officials reporting at least 22 people killed in strikes yesterday.

Israel issued new evacuation orders for Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip early yesterday, forcing more families to flee, saying forces intended to act against Hamas and others operating in the area.

The United Nations said Monday it had been forced to halt its humanitarian operations in Gaza due to a new Israeli evacuation order for the Deir al-Balah area, a senior UN official said

Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel early yesterday, as Israel’s military said it struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to thwart a bigger attack, in one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare.

Negotiators geared up for a crucial weekend of Gaza ceasefire talks yesterday, as Hamas said it was sending delegates to Cairo but would not participate in the discussions, and fighting raged in the Palestinian territory.

Israeli negotiators were in Cairo yesterday for talks on a Gaza truce, a spokesman said, but a dispute over the presence of Israeli troops on Gaza’s southern border remained among sticking points.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said an Israeli strike hit a school in Gaza City yesterday, killing at least 12 people, while top US diplomat Antony Blinken was in Egypt for talks on a Gaza ceasefire.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned yesterday that the latest push for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal was probably the best and possibly last opportunity, urging Israel and Hamas towards an elusive agreement.

Israeli strikes killed 25 people in Gaza yesterday, including six children, Palestinian health authorities said, ahead of a visit to the region by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to try to push forward ceasefire talks.

A senior Hamas official yesterday dismissed optimistic talk by US President Joe Biden that a Gaza truce is nearer after negotiations in the Gulf emirate of Qatar.

The Israeli army ordered a fresh evacuation of areas in southern and central Gaza previously designated as a humanitarian safe zone yesterday, saying the areas had been used by Hamas as a base for firing mortars and rockets towards Israel.

With Gaza largely in ruins after more than 10 months of war, the Hamas-run territory's health ministry has struggled to count the death toll, which on Thursday surpassed 40,000

Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 40,005 Palestinians since October 7, the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry said yesterday, as there was no let-up in Israeli strikes across the enclave.

The sale comes as Biden has pressed Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire after 10 months of bloodshed, although the weapons would take years to reach Israel

The leaders of France, Germany and Britain said yesterday that “there can be no further delay” in negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza, warning Iran and its allies against any “further escalation” of the conflict.

Rescuers in Gaza said an Israeli air strike on a religious school housing displaced Palestinians killed 93 people yesterday, sparking international condemnation despite Israel’s insistence that it was targeting militants.

More than 100 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a Gaza school sheltering displaced people, the official Palestinian news agency said on Saturday, while the Israeli army said it had hit a Hamas command centre

Israeli troops yesterday launched a new assault into the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, as American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators renewed their push for Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal.

Israel ordered residents and displaced Palestinians to evacuate the Beit Hanoon and Beit Lahiya areas of Gaza City yesterday, as reports said a “large scale” Israeli army operation is expected to begin there soon.

Hamas named its Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar as successor to former political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran last week, the group said on Tuesday.