Gaz/Cairo, August 12, 2025: Israeli air and ground bombardments on eastern Gaza City overnight killed at least 11 people, Palestinian medics and witnesses said on Tuesday, as Hamas deputy leader Khalil Al-Hayya arrived in Cairo for talks aimed at reviving a stalled U.S.-backed ceasefire plan.
The previous round of indirect negotiations in Qatar collapsed in late July, with both Israel and Hamas blaming each other for the deadlock over a proposed 60-day truce and hostage release deal. Israel has since threatened a renewed offensive to retake Gaza City — briefly seized in October 2023 — with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expected to expand military control over the enclave in October.
The plan has drawn sharp international criticism amid worsening displacement, hunger, and destruction affecting Gaza’s 2.2 million residents, as well as warnings from Israel’s military chief that it could endanger remaining hostages and Israeli troops.
On Tuesday, foreign ministers from 24 countries, including Britain, Canada, France, Japan, and Australia, warned that Gaza’s humanitarian crisis had reached “unimaginable levels” and urged Israel to allow unrestricted aid. Israel denies responsibility for food shortages, accusing Hamas of diverting supplies, and says it has facilitated aid deliveries by pausing combat in some areas and designating safe routes for convoys.
A Palestinian official told Reuters that Hamas remains ready to negotiate, adding that the Cairo visit would reaffirm its willingness to discuss any proposal to end the war. Hamas has signalled readiness to hand over governance to a non-partisan body but refuses to disarm before the creation of a Palestinian state — a condition rejected by Netanyahu’s far-right coalition, which insists on Hamas’s elimination.
Gaza’s health ministry reported 89 Palestinian deaths in the past 24 hours, including seven in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, four in a central apartment building, and several others in Khan Younis and Mawasi. Five additional deaths — including two children — were attributed to starvation and malnutrition, bringing such fatalities to 227 since the war began.
The conflict erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 hostages. Since then, more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities.
