Israel, Gaza City and offensive
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Elsewhere, we’re seeing footage online following further overnight attacks in Ukraine - with reports that a fuel and energy site is on fire in the southern port city of Odesa. Our team is also verifying reports of a Ukrainian drone attack on Voronezh in south-west Russia.
Palestinian residents of Gaza City have come under relentless Israeli bombardment as the military prepares for a major offensive to seize and ethnically cleanse the area, barring emergency workers from reaching people trapped in the residential Zeitoun neighbourhood.
Displaced residents of Gaza City are split over a potential ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that could allow them to return to their homes.
As strikes on Gaza continue, Israel says it is studying what Qatar has, in its role as mediator, described as a "positive response" by Hamas to a ceasefire proposal. Spokesperson for Qatar's Foreign Ministry Majid al-Ansari declined to go into the details of the deal,
Gaza City presents a challenge. In 2024, it was largely cut off from central Gaza because the IDF held the Netzarim corridor.
Hamas has accepted the latest proposal for a 60-day ceasefire with Israel that includes the return of half the hostages the group holds in Gaza and Israel's release of some Palestinian prisoners, an Egyptian official source said on Monday.