Israel orders thousands to flee as 60 people killed in new airstrikes

Israel ramped up its offensive in Gaza yesterday, with new displacement orders sending tens of thousands fleeing the north of the territory and waves of airstrikes killing about 60 Palestinians, according to local officials and medical staff.

- Jason Burke Jerusalem Malak A Tantesh Gaza

The violence came as a senior adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, was due to arrive in Washington for talks on a new ceasefire, a day after Donald Trump called in a social media post for a deal to end the 20-month war and free 50 hostages held by Hamas.

Ron Dermer, the strategic affairs minister and a close confidant of Netanyahu, was expected to meet senior US officials to discuss the continuing indirect negotiations with Hamas, the aftermath of Israel's war against Iran and the possibility of regional diplomatic deals. An Israeli government spokesperson told reporters yesterday that Netanyahu was working to end the war in Gaza "as soon as possible" through the release of the hostages, of whom more than half are thought to be dead, and the defeat of Hamas.

The new "evacuation orders" warned of impending assaults around the densely populated Gaza City and told Palestinians to head south to overcrowded coastal zones where there are few facilities and limited water. About 80% of Gaza is now covered by such orders or controlled by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).