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Netanyahu 'unwilling' to reach Gaza truce deal - Hamas

Smoke billowing east of Gaza City following Israeli strikes yesterday
Smoke billowing east of Gaza City following Israeli strikes yesterday

Hamas has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not wanting to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza as talks in Qatar entered their second week.

"Netanyahu is skilled at thwarting one round of negotiations after another, and is unwilling to reach any agreement," the Palestinian militant group said in a statement on its Telegram channel.

Meanwhile mediators are pursuing "innovative mechanisms" to bridge the gaps between Israeli and Hamas delegations after a week of Gaza truce talks in Qatar, an official with knowledge of the negotiations said.

"Mediators are actively exploring innovative mechanisms to help bridge the remaining gaps and maintain momentum in the negotiations," the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The talks in Doha were focused "on the proposed maps for the redeployment of Israeli forces within Gaza", the official added.

On Saturday, Palestinian sources told AFP that Israel's proposals for keeping troops in the territory were preventing progress towards a deal.

Egypt's head of intelligence, Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, was also in Doha for the talks, meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani to discuss "ways to coordinate the efforts of the mediators to advance the negotiation process", an official with knowledge of his visit said.

Israeli air strikes

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike causing panic at the area in Gaza City
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike causes panic in Gaza city

It comes as Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes have killed at least 22 people, while Israel and Palestinian militants reported facing each other in the territory's north.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that ten Palestinians were killed in three separate air strikes in various part of Gaza City, in the territory's north, with 12 more people killed in attacks on the southern area of Khan Yunis.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.

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A military statement said that Israeli troops had destroyed "buildings and terrorist infrastructure" used by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza City's Shujaiya and Zeitun areas.

The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad which has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza, released footage on that it said showed its fighters firing missiles at an Israeli army command and control centre near Shujaiya.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties.

The vast majority of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory.