Israeli troops have launched a new assault into the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, targeting Hamas fighters who the military claims still operate there despite repeated offensives.
The move comes as American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators renewed their push for Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal.
Israeli evacuation orders triggered yet another exodus of Palestinians from the heavily destroyed eastern districts of Khan Younis, where many had just returned less than two weeks ago — after the Israeli military’s last incursion into the city in July.
Thousands fled on Thursday, carrying essentials like small gas cylinders, mattresses, tents, backpacks and blankets.
Officials from Israel and the US have said they believe Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ newly named top leader and one of the architects of the October 7 attack on Israel, could be hiding in tunnels under Khan Younis.
The military said on Friday its warplanes struck 30 Hamas targets in the city, including fighters and weapons storage sites.
It said troops were searching for Hamas tunnels and other infrastructure while engaging in combat “above and below ground”.
After 10 months of war in Gaza, the mediators’ push aims to resume indirect negotiations for a cease-fire that have been on hold since Mr Sinwar’s predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in a presumed Israeli blast in Tehran on July 31.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed on Thursday that it would send negotiators to talks that mediators have called for on August 15, to be held in either Qatar’s capital of Doha or Egypt’s capital of Cairo.
There was no immediate response from Hamas, which announced Tuesday that Sinwar, the group’s leader in Gaza, would replace Mr Haniyeh as the group’s top leader.
Mr Haniyeh previously served as the key interlocutor in the negotiations.
His killing and that of a top Hezbollah commander in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut brought vows of retaliation from Hezbollah and Iran.
International diplomats have been scrambling to prevent an escalation and to seal a deal to stop the fighting in Gaza and release the hostages still held captive in the enclave.
In a joint statement, the United States, Egypt and Qatar called for the new round of talks, to be held either in Doha or Cairo, and pressed both sides to move ahead.
“There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay,” they said, adding that the negotiators have already finalised a framework for the deal.
They said mediators were prepared to present a final compromise “that resolves the remaining implementation issues in a manner that meets the expectations of all parties”.
A key question hanging over the talks is the impact of Mr Sinwar’s elevation to Hamas’ top leadership post.
Seen as a hard-liner within the group, Mr Sinwar has been in deep hiding in Gaza throughout the war as Israel vows to kill him.
Mr Sinwar has already been closely involved in negotiations from behind the scenes.
Hamas officials and mediators have said Hamas negotiators regularly sought his approval on the group’s positions as it pressed for guarantees that a deal would bring a complete end to the war and withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza, in return for the release of all hostages.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the October 7 attack, in which militants from Gaza stormed into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 250 others. After a round of release exchanges in November, Israel says 111 hostages remain in Gaza, including 39 bodies.
Its campaign in Gaza has killed more than 39,600 Palestinians and wounded more than 91,700 others. More than 1.9 million of Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.3 million have been driven from their homes, fleeing repeatedly across the territory to escape offensives.
Most are now crowded into ramshackle tent camps in an area measuring about 19 square miles on the Gaza coast.
