At least 71 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern and central Gaza overnight, half of them women and children, the territory's health officials said. European diplomats stepped up calls for a cease-fire on Thursday, with alarm rising over the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Tensions were also rising in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where three gunmen opened fire Thursday morning on the road near a checkpoint, killing one Israeli and wounding at least five, police said. Two of the attackers were killed and a third was found later and detained.
Yoav Gallant, Israel's defence minister, said Thursday that Israel “will expand the authority” of its hostage negotiators, signalling a small sign of progress in ongoing international efforts to broker a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
But unless Hamas agrees to release the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, Israel will launch a ground offensive into the crowded southern city of Rafah during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan, said Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's War Cabinet, late Wednesday.
Israel's war in Gaza has driven some 80% of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Most heeded Israeli orders to flee south and around 1.5 million are packed into Rafah near the border with Egypt.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage. About a fourth of some 130 captives still being held are believed to be dead. Israel has laid waste to much of the Palestinian territory in response.
Gaza's Health Ministry estimates more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed.
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