A Hamas delegation departed for Cairo to discuss "new ideas" aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza, an official from the group said, as Israeli air strikes killed 26 people across the territory today.
The renewed effort follows Hamas's rejection last week of Israel's latest proposal to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza.
Talks have so far failed to produce any breakthrough since Israel resumed its air and ground assault on Gaza from 18 March, ending a two-month ceasefire.
"The delegation will meet with Egyptian officials to discuss new ideas aimed at reaching a ceasefire," the Hamas official said, adding the team included the group's chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya.
The latest round of discussions come a day after newly appointed US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, urged Hamas to accept a deal that would secure the release of hostages in exchange for the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
"When that happens, and hostages are released which is an urgent matter for all of us, then we hope that the humanitarian aid will flow and flow freely knowing it will be done without Hamas being able to confiscate and abuse their own people," Mr Huckabee said in a video statement.
US President Donald Trump said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon, adding that the two leaders were united on issues including trade and Iran.
"I've just spoken to Prime Minister of Israel," Mr Trump said on social media. "The call went very well - We are on the same side of every issue."
Israel blocked all aid to Gaza on 2 March, days before launching its renewed offensive.
Israel has accused the Palestinian militant group of diverting aid, which Hamas denies.
"Gaza has become a land of desperation," Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian refugees), said on X.
"Hunger is spreading and deepening, deliberate and manmade... Humanitarian aid is being used as a bargaining chip and a weapon of war."
Qatar, along with the United States and Egypt, brokered a truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas which began on 19 January and enabled a surge in aid, alongside the exchange of hostages and prisoners.
But that truce collapsed after disagreements emerged over the terms of the next stage.
Hamas had insisted that negotiations be held for a second phase of the truce, leading to a permanent end to the war, as outlined in the January framework.
Israel, by contrast, sought an extension of the first phase.
Following the impasse, Israel blocked aid to Gaza and resumed its military campaign.
Most recently, Israel proposed a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 10 living hostages - an offer Hamas rejected last week.
Polio vaccination campaign suspended - health ministry
Gaza's health ministry said a UN-backed polio vaccination campaign meant to target over 600,000 children had been suspended, putting the enclave at risk of the revival of a crippling disease that once had been all but eradicated.
Since the total blockade was imposed last month, all 25 UN-supplied bakeries making bread have been shut.
Israel says enough supplies were sent into the enclave during the six-week truce to keep Gazans alive for months. Aid agencies say they fear the population is on the precipice of starvation and mass disease.
If polio vaccines don't arrive immediately, "we anticipate a real catastrophe. Children and patients must not be used as cards of political blackmail," said Gaza health ministry spokesperson Khalil Deqran. He said 60,000 children were now showing symptoms of malnutrition.
At least 26 people killed in Israeli air strikes
Gaza's civil defence agency said that a spate of Israeli air strikes since dawn today killed at least 26 people across the Hamas-run territory.
Among the fatalities were nine people when a house was struck in central Khan Younis, Mohammad Mughayyir, a senior official from the agency said, adding that six others remain trapped under the rubble.
More than 10 houses were also destroyed in the strikes, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said earlier, adding that an air strike also destroyed bulldozers and equipment belonging to the Jabalia municipality in northern Gaza.
The Israeli military said they hit 40 "engineering vehicles that were used for terrorist actions", including the execution of Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.
The vehicles were "considered a key component in Hamas' ability to carry out terrorist operations against the Defense Forces and the State of Israel," said the military.
At least 1,890 people have been killed in Gaza since the military resumed its offensive, bringing the total death toll since the war erupted to at least 51,266, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which ignited the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Hamas militants also abducted 251 people, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
