(MENAFN- Daily News Egypt) A Hamas delegation led by senior official Khalil Al-Hayya arrived in Cairo on Saturday night to discuss the latest Israeli escalation in the Gaza Strip and explore steps toward implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement signed in Sharm El-Sheikh on October 10.

Their visit comes amid mounting concerns over repeated violations of the truce and growing international alarm about its fragility.

The Gaza Ministry of Health reported that the death toll from Israel's offensive, ongoing since October 2023, has reached 69,756, with 170,946 wounded. It said 23 people were killed over the past 24 hours-21 in new strikes and two recovered from beneath the rubble-while 83 others were injured.

According to the ministry, 339 Palestinians have been killed and 871 wounded since October 11 in what it described as breaches of the ceasefire.

Palestinian media reported heavy Israeli bombardment across several areas, including a“fire belt” east of Khan Younis, accompanied by helicopter and drone activity. Israeli forces also carried out extensive demolitions of residential blocks in eastern Gaza City, while a naval strike off the Rafah coast killed a child and injured others.

The Gaza government media office accused Israel of full responsibility for what it called a worsening humanitarian and security crisis resulting from“continuous violations” of the truce, warning that such actions threaten efforts to maintain calm. Alaraby TV's Gaza bureau said Israeli authorities continue to block the entry of heavy machinery needed to recover bodies from collapsed buildings.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu countered that Hamas“has not stopped violating the ceasefire,” saying Israeli forces are responding accordingly. He accused Hamas of attempting several infiltrations beyond Israeli lines and noted that the army recently struck targets in Lebanon to disrupt Hezbollah's ability to rebuild its capabilities.“We have killed many terrorists and arrested others from the Rafah tunnels,” he said.

The Israeli army announced the killing of Ala Al-Haddadi, described as a senior logistics official in Hamas's weapons-production unit, in a joint operation with the Shin Bet. Meanwhile, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi summoned several senior officers who were in command during Hamas's October 7 attack, briefing them ahead of expected disciplinary measures related to their handling of the assault.

In a separate development, Haaretz reported that the United States has begun reducing its military presence at the CMCC coordination center in the settlement of Kiryat Gat. Israel Hayom said Israeli assessments increasingly suggest that an international force once expected to oversee the disarmament of Hamas in Gaza is unlikely to materialize.

From Johannesburg, where the G20 summit convened, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the situation in Gaza“remains extremely difficult,” urging all sides to uphold the ceasefire and meet their obligations. Canada said Prime Minister Mark Carney and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reaffirmed their support for a comprehensive peace plan to end the conflict.

In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said global peace is impossible without establishing a free Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. He added that Ankara is examining how it could contribute security personnel to the proposed Gaza stabilization force, although Israel opposes the inclusion of Turkish troops in the UN-mandated mission.

As Israeli armored units intensified fire east of the Bureij refugee camp and new airstrikes targeted areas southeast of Khan Younis, diplomatic efforts to preserve the ceasefire appeared increasingly fragile.

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