Officials from Hamas have left Cairo after talks with Egyptian officials on a new proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza, Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News satellite channel said Tuesday.
The channel, which has close ties with Egyptian security agencies, said a Hamas delegation will return to Cairo with a written response to the cease-fire proposal, without saying when.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Israel on his latest trip to the region, which began Monday in Saudi Arabia. He said Israel needs to do more to allow aid to enter Gaza, but that the best way to alleviate the humanitarian crisis is for the two sides to agree to a cease-fire.
The Israel-Hamas war was sparked by the unprecedented Oct. 7 raid into southern Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages. Israel says the militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
The war in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. The war has driven around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes, caused vast destruction in several towns and cities, and pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine.
Gaza health ministry reports 47 killed in the last 24 hours
The Gaza Health Ministry said Tuesday the bodies of 47 people killed by Israeli strikes have been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours. Hospitals also received 61 wounded, it said in its daily report.
That brings the overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war to at least 34,536, the ministry said. Another 77,704 have been wounded, it said.
The Health Ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its tallies, but says that women and children make up around two thirds of those killed.
The Israeli military says it has killed roughly 13,000 militants during the war, without providing evidence to back up the claim.
