Egypt has said that it was working with fellow Gaza mediators Qatar and the United States to broker a 60-day truce, as part of a renewed push to end the Israel-Hamas war.
The country's foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, made the announcement at a press conference in Cairo, as two Palestinian sources told AFP that a senior Hamas delegation was due to meet Egyptian officials for talks tomorrow.
Diplomacy aimed at securing an elusive ceasefire and hostage release deal in the 22-month-old war has stalled for weeks, after the latest round of negotiations broke down in July.
Mr Abdelatty said that "we are working very hard now in full cooperation with the Qataris and Americans", aiming for "a ceasefire for 60 days, with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions, without conditions".
The Hamas delegation expected in Cairo, led by the group's chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, is scheduled to meet Egyptian officials tomorrow to "discuss the latest developments" in negotiations, said a Palestinian source.
News of the potential truce talks came as Gaza's civil defence agency said Israel has intensified its air strikes on Gaza City in recent days, following a government decision to expand the war there.
Intensified strikes
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has not provided an exact timetable on when forces may enter the area, but civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that air raids had already begun increasing over the past three days.
It comes as security experts say the plan approved by Mr Netanyahu to take Gaza City will be a costly slog for the Israeli army.
The first challenge for Israeli troops relates to Mr Netanyahu's call for the evacuation of civilians - how such a feat will be carried out remains unclear.
Unlike the rest of Gaza, where most of the population has been displaced at least once, around 300,000 residents of Gaza City have not moved since the outbreak of the conflict.
Israel has already tried to push civilians further south to so-called humanitarian zones established by the military, but there is likely little space to accommodate more arrivals.
Israel sees 'no signs' of starvation
Separately, Israel said it had found "no signs" of widespread malnutrition in Gaza, rejecting evidence from the war-battered territory even as UN agencies warn it is on the brink of famine.
Israel has faced mounting criticism over the 22-month-old war which has created a dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, home to more than two million Palestinians.
Humanitarian groups, UN agencies and Palestinian militant group Hamas have sounded the alarm on the risk of widespread famine particularly since Israel had imposed a complete aid blockade for more than two months, only partially easing it since late May.
The health ministry of the Hamas government in Gaza says at least 227 people including 103 children have died of hunger since the war began in October 2023, with many cases recorded in recent weeks.
The Israeli defence ministry's COGAT, a body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said in a report published today that it had carried out an "in-depth review" of the Gaza health ministry data.
The review, according to COGAT, found a "significant gap" between the ministry's reported deaths attributed to malnutrition and the "cases documented and published with full identifying details in the media and on social media".
It dismissed the figures from Gaza as "misleading", accusing Hamas of pushing a "narrative of famine".
Hamas's government press office issued a rebuttal, denouncing a "futile attempt to cover up a crime that is internationally documented".
'Nothing changing on the ground'
An aid worker in Gaza has said that "nothing is changing on the ground," despite 24 international foreign ministers calling for more humanitarian aid to be let in to the region.
Action Aid's Emergency Response Manager in Gaza, Alaa Abu Samara, said that he was hopeful international governments would put more pressure on Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian aid.
"We have been hearing these kind of statements for more than two years. Nothing is actually happening on the ground," he said on RTÉ's Drivetime programme.
"We believe that there should be more pressure on the Israeli side by the governments, by the international law, in order to push them to allow more aid and more food supplies to get into Gaza," he said.
"I hope that this will change things on the ground, but for now, nothing is changing at all.
"I can assure you that 90% of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip don't have access to the essential items of food or money."
