Smoke rises from an Israeli army airstrike east of Khan Younis, central Gaza, August 13, 2025. /VCG
The Israeli military pounded the Gaza Strip on Wednesday prior to a planned takeover, with another 123 people killed in the last day, according to the Gazan health ministry, while Hamas held further talks with Egyptian mediators.
The 24-hour death toll was the worst in a week and added to the massive fatalities from the nearly two-year conflict that has shattered the besieged enclave that houses over 2 million Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated an idea that Palestinians should simply leave.
"They're not being pushed out, they'll be allowed to exit," he told Israeli television channel i24NEWS. "All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their gates and stop lecturing us."
Gaza's future and ceasefire possibilities
Arabs and many world leaders are aghast at the idea of displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another "Nakba" (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during a 1948 war.
Besides, Israel's planned re-seizure of Gaza City – which it took in the early days of the conflict before withdrawing – is probably weeks away, officials say. That means a ceasefire is still possible though talks have been floundering and conflict still rages.
Egyptian security sources said the talks would also discuss the possibility of a comprehensive ceasefire that would see Hamas relinquish governance in Gaza and concede its weapons.
A Hamas official told Reuters the group was open to all ideas if Israel ends the conflict and pulls out. However, "laying down arms before the occupation is dismissed is impossible," the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
Arab states and much of the international community want post-war Gaza to be governed by the Palestinian Authority (PA), which exercises limited governance in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The authority's foreign minister, Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, told reporters it was ready to assume full responsibility in Gaza. Hamas would have no role and be required to hand over arms, she added, calling for an international peacekeeping force and withdrawal by Israel.
Hamas says it is ready to quit Gaza governance for a non-partisan technocratic entity agreed by all Palestinian parties.
Israel says it does not trust the PA to rule Gaza.
Israel under criticism for denying aid into Gaza
Israel's rules regulating foreign aid groups to Gaza has been under outcry over the widespread devastation and hunger in the enclave.
In March, Israel's government approved a new set of rules for foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with Palestinians.
The law updates the framework for how aid groups must register to maintain their status within Israel, along with provisions that outline how their applications can be denied or registration revoked.
However, more than 100 foreign aid groups signed a joint statement on Thursday that the new Israeli legislation regulating foreign aid groups has been increasingly used to deny their requests to bring supplies into Gaza.
"Israeli authorities have rejected requests from dozens of NGOs to bring in lifesaving goods, citing that these organizations are 'not authorized to deliver aid'," the joint statement reads.
According to the statement, whose signatories include Doctors Without Borders (MSF), at least 60 requests to bring aid into Gaza were rejected in July alone.
"Our mandate is to save lives, but due to the registration restrictions civilians are being left without food, medicine and protection they urgently need," said Jolien Veldwijk, director of the charity CARE in the Palestinian territories.
Eight more people, including three children, have died of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 235, including 106 children, since the conflict began, according to the Gazan health ministry.
China on Wednesday signed an agreement to contribute to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and called for continued international support for the body, which faces a severe funding gap.
(With input from agencies)