Hope for truce amid strikes

ISRAELI forces were targeting “terrorist infrastructure” in southern Gaza, the military said yesterday, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced hope that an agreement with Hamas could be reached within days for a pause in the 21-month war.

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Negotiators from Israel and the Palestinian militant group have been locked in indirect talks in Qatar since Sunday to try to agree on a temporary ceasefire.

Netanyahu said a lasting truce could follow, but only if Hamas laid down its arms and was no longer able to govern or operate in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza's civil defence agency reported a fresh wave of Israeli strikes, including one that killed five people at a school building sheltering Palestinians.

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

In the south of the territory, a witness said there were ongoing attacks and devastation, with Israeli tanks seen near the city of Khan Yunis.

“The situation remains extremely difficult in the area - intense gunfire, intermittent air strikes, artillery shelling, and ongoing bulldozing and destruction of displacement camps and agricultural land” south of Khan Yunis, he added.