Cairo

Egyptian electrician Mahmoud Shalabi was the only person from his hometown to survive when a fishing trawler crammed with migrants capsized off Greece a year ago, killing hundreds in one of the deadliest recorded boat disasters in the Mediterranean.

Intense shelling and gunfire rocked Rafah in southern Gaza on Thursday, after Israel declared it had seized a strategic corridor along the Palestinian territory's border with Egypt.

Israel launched its military incursion into Rafah in early May despite international objections over the safety of civilians sheltering in the city.

President Xi Jinping welcomed Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to Beijing on Wednesday, as the Chinese capital hosts a number of Arab dignitaries for a forum it hopes will deepen ties with the region.

Several Arab leaders are this week visiting Beijing, which is seeking to present a "common voice" on the conflict between Israel and Hamas and improve cooperation.

A spokesman for Hamas' armed wing announced that its fighters captured Israeli soldiers during clashes in Jabalia in northern Gaza, though the Israeli military denied this claim, according to reports from Reuters.

The Hamas spokesman did not specify the number of soldiers allegedly captured or provide evidence to support his statement.

Israeli airstrikes targeted areas in Rafah on Thursday, as reported by Palestinian residents, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed US President Joe Biden's warning of withholding weapons from Israel if it attacks the southern Gaza city.

Israel launched fresh strikes in the Gaza Strip Friday after negotiators pursuing a long-stalled truce agreement left talks in Cairo without having secured a deal.

AFP journalists in the Gaza Strip early Friday witnessed artillery strikes on Rafah on the territory's southern border with Egypt, while witnesses reported air strikes and fighting in Gaza City further north.

Israel bombarded the overcrowded Gaza city of Rafah, where it has launched a ground incursion, as talks resumed yesterday in Cairo aimed at agreeing the terms of a truce in the seven-month war.

Despite international objections, Israel sent tanks into Rafah on May 7 and seized the nearby crossing into Egypt that is the main conduit for aid into the besieged Palestinian territory.

The African Union condemned Wednesday the Israeli military's moves into southern Gaza's Rafah, calling for the international community to stop "this deadly escalation" of the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a truce proposal backed by Hamas, citing its misalignment with Israel's demands. The announcement followed Hamas's endorsement of a specific ceasefire proposal, which Israeli negotiators deem insufficient compared to previously discussed options.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Monday informed mediators Qatar and Egypt that Hamas had accepted their proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza after nearly seven months of war.