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 military also announced a sweeping evacuation order for tens of thousands of residents of Khan Yunis and surrounding areas in southern Gaza ahead of a planned strike after projectiles were fired from there earlier in the day.

The seizure of the "Morag axis" came while Hamas expected "real progress" towards a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, an official from the group told AFP, with senior leaders from the Palestinian movement scheduled to hold talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo later on Saturday.

"The 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," Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement addressed to residents of Gaza.

"Soon, IDF operations will intensify and expand to other areas throughout most of Gaza, and you will need to evacuate the combat zones.

"In northern Gaza as well — in Beit Hanoun and other neighbourhoods — residents are evacuating, the area is being taken over and the security zone is being expanded, including in the Netzarim corridor," he added.

Cairo talks

Since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in mid-March, Israel's renewed offensive in Gaza has displaced hundreds of thousands of people while the military has seized large areas of the war-battered territory.

Top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have repeatedly said that the ongoing assault aims to pressure Hamas into freeing the remaining 58 hostages held in Gaza.

Hamas said the offensive not only "kills defenceless civilians but also makes the fate of the occupation's prisoners (hostages) uncertain".

In a separate announcement, the military ordered residents of Khan Yunis and surrounding areas to evacuate after the air force intercepted three projectiles fired from south Gaza earlier in the day.

"IDF troops are operating with significant force in the area, and will strike with intensity on any location from which rockets are launched," the military said on X.

The United Nations had warned a day before that expanding Israeli evacuation orders were resulting in the "forcible transfer" of people into ever-shrinking areas, raising "real concern as to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in Gaza".

Later on Saturday, a Hamas delegation and Egyptian mediators were to meet in Cairo.

"We hope the meeting will achieve real progress towards reaching an agreement to end the war, halt the aggression and ensure the full withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza," a Hamas official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations said on condition of anonymity.

According to him, 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.

"However, contacts and discussions with mediators are ongoing," he added, accusing Israel of "continuing its aggression" in Gaza.

Strikes continue

The Times of Israel reported that Egypt's 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.

US President Donald Trump said during a cabinet meeting this week that "we're getting close to getting them (hostages in Gaza) back".

Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was also quoted in an Israeli media report as saying "a very serious deal is taking shape, it's a matter of days".

Since 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.

Dozens of these strikes have killed "only women and children," the UN human rights office said Friday.

AFP footage of the aftermath of a strike on Saturday showed the bodies of four men, wrapped in white shrouds, at a local hospital, while several individuals gathered to offer prayers before the funeral.

The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas's 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.

Gaza's 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.

-AFP

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