Hamas team heads to Cairo for Gaza talks as Israel strikes kill 26

A Hamas delegation left for Cairo to discuss "new ideas" aimed at securing a Gaza ceasefire, an official from the group said, as Israeli air strikes killed 26 people across the territory Tuesday.

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 March 18, 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.

US presses for hostage deal as aid remains blocked

The discussions will 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 humanitarian aid entering 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", Huckabee said in a video statement.

Israel blocked all aid to Gaza on March 2, days before its renewed offensive began.

Israel has accused the Palestinian group of diverting aid, which Hamas denies.

"Gaza has become a land of desperation," Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, said on X on Tuesday.

"Hunger is spreading and deepening, deliberate and manmade.... Humanitarian aid is being used as a bargaining chip and a weapon of war."

Ceasefire framework stalls amid disagreements

Qatar, with the United States and Egypt, brokered a truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas which began on January 19 and enabled a surge in aid, alongside exchanges of hostages and prisoners.

But the truce collapsed after disagreements over the terms of the next stage.

Hamas had insisted that negotiations be held on a second phase of the truce, leading to a permanent end to the war, as outlined in the January framework announced by former US President Joe Biden.

Israel, however, sought to extend the first phase.

Following the impasse, Israel blocked aid 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.

Civilian toll mounts

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes killed at least 26 people across the Hamas-run territory on Tuesday.

Among the fatalities were nine people when a house was struck in central Khan Yunis, senior agency official Mohammad Mughayyir told AFP, adding that six others remain trapped.

"We found people torn apart," said Ahmad Shourab who witnessed the strike. "They were all women and children. What do they want from us?"

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said air strikes also destroyed bulldozers and other equipment belonging to the Jabalia municipality in northern Gaza.

"We relied on them for rescue operations to clear debris and recover the bodies of martyrs from beneath the rubble," Bassal said.

"Now, if a large-scale strike occurs and heavy machinery is needed, how will we obtain the equipment to save lives, pull people from the rubble, or evacuate them from buildings targeted in attacks?"

Israel's military did not immediately comment on the latest strikes.

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 Gaza.

Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 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.