The Israeli Defence Forces continue their ground operation in Gaza against Hamas militants. Northern Gaza has been cleared of terrorists.
Israel continues the special operation against Hamas
Israel will gradually move to the next phase of military operations in Gaza.
This was stated by the Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
According to him, the local population will most likely be able to return primarily to northern Gaza, which was the most populated area of the Mediterranean enclave before the Israeli invasion in response to Hamas attacks on 7 October.
At the same time, Gallant did not specify the terms of the transition to a new stage of the operation.
Most residents of northern Gaza have heeded Israeli orders to evacuate to the south, where the military regularly orders people to move on amid incessant air strikes and firefights with Islamist militants.
Soon we will be able to distinguish between different areas of Gaza. In each area where we are carrying out our mission, we will be able to gradually move to the next stage and start working on the return of the local population. This means that this can be achieved more quickly in the north than in the south, Gallant said.
What is known about the new truce between Israel and Hamas
According to the newspaper's journalists, the parties are ready to hold a new round of talks on the release of Israeli hostages and a pause in hostilities, but differ in their views on the implementation of these agreements.
Egypt's security sources said that Cairo and Doha, which had previously negotiated a week-long ceasefire and the release of hostages, insisted on speeding up the delivery of aid and opening the Kerem Shalom crossing before the talks began.
According to one Israeli official, the aid was allowed to enter Gaza after Egyptian sources initially reported that it had been detained.
Hopes for peace rose on Saturday when a source said that the Israeli intelligence chief had spoken to the Qatari prime minister on Friday.
At the same time, Hamas terrorists demand that a list of hostages to be released be drawn up unilaterally, and that Israeli troops be withdrawn beyond pre-determined borders.
While Israel agreed that the list would be determined by Hamas, sources said it would like to set a time frame and see the list before deciding on the timing and duration of the ceasefire.
For its part, Israel refuses to withdraw its troops, the sources added. Hamas says that a complete ceasefire is a prerequisite for the release of hostages, the sources said.
