Rafah

Hamas said Tuesday it was considering a new framework for a truce proposed during the latest round of negotiations in Cairo, as Palestinians returning to southern Gaza confronted the extent of destruction left after Israeli troops' withdrawal.

Israel and Hamas both dampened hopes on Monday of a speedy breakthrough in Cairo talks towards a Gaza truce and hostage release deal after Egyptian state-linked media had reported "significant progress".

Israeli leaders were preparing Monday for military operations in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where most of the Palestinian territory's population has fled after six months of fighting.

Talks in Cairo aimed at brokering a truce have made "significant progress", with more negotiations expected in the coming days, Egyptian state-linked outlet Al-Qahera reported Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested a meeting with the White House to discuss an upcoming ground operation in Rafah, situated in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. This move comes after Netanyahu scrapped a government delegation's trip to Washington following the U.S.'s decision to abstain from a UN Security Council vote urging an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The southern Gaza Strip came under intense Israeli bombardment overnight, despite international pressure for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territory where famine is looming.

Air and artillery strikes pounded targets in Gaza Sunday as U.N. chief Antonio Guterres called for a surge of aid into the besieged territory he said was stalked by "horror and starvation".

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to visit Egypt's border with Gaza on Saturday, after Israel said it would send in troops to fight Hamas in the nearby city of Rafah, even without U.S. support.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Israel Friday for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ahead of a U.N. Security Council vote on a U.S. draft resolution noting the need for an "immediate" ceasefire that would allow in more aid.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis proposed the issuance of Eurobonds exclusively for EU defense bolstering during his opening statements Thursday at the ongoing two-day European Union Council Summit in Brussels.

Israel will not participate in this year's edition of the Iniochos 2024 exercise in April, which is organized every year at Andravida Air Base in Western Greece by the Hellenic Air Force with the participation of many foreign countries.