Palestinian hospital officials say Israeli airstrikes on the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip have killed at least five people.
Among those killed in the strikes overnight and into Thursday were two children, identified in hospital records as Sham Najjar, 6, and Jamal Nabahan, 8.
More than half of the territory’s population of 2.3 million have sought refuge in Rafah, where Israel has conducted near-daily raids as it prepares for an offensive in the city.
In central Gaza, four people were killed in Israeli tank shelling, and their bodies were brought to a local hospital. Family members told The Associated Press they were killed as they tried to move to northern Gaza, where Israel’s military is preventing people from returning to their homes.
Meanwhile, a top Hamas political official told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.
Durek Verrett labels Princess Martha Louise of Norway his 'sun and moon'
More than 100 killed while seeking aid in Gaza, overall death toll passes 30,000
EDITORIAL: Sex offender checks must protect children, human rights
Chocolate: Cocoa price hits record high as El Niño hurts crops
Kourtney Kardashian, 45, shows off her incredible post
Wellington's Reading Cinemas deal debate to go public
Woman charged with murder after man found dead in Hamilton
US Supreme Court lets $2.46 billion Boy Scouts sex abuse settlement proceed
Wisconsin prison inmate pleads not guilty to killing cellmate
Alexei Navalny death: Team accuses Russia of 'hiding' his body