Israeli airstrikes hit about 40 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military said on Friday, hours after Hamas rejected Israel's ceasefire offer, saying it did not meet the group's demand for a complete end to the war.
Last month, the Israeli army broke a two-month ceasefire that had largely halted fighting in Gaza. Since then, it has pushed in from both the north and south, capturing nearly a third of the enclave in an effort to pressure Hamas to agree to release hostages and disarm.
The Israeli military said troops were operating in the Shabura and Tel Al-Sultan areas near the southern city of Rafah, as well as in the northern part of Gaza, where it has taken control of large areas east of Gaza City.
Egyptian mediators are trying to revive a January ceasefire deal that collapsed when Israel resumed airstrikes and sent ground troops back into Gaza. There is still no sign that the two sides have come closer on the core issues.
Late Thursday, Halil Al-Haja, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, said the movement was willing to exchange all of the remaining 59 hostages for Palestinians in prisons in Israel in exchange for an end to the war and the reconstruction of Gaza.
But he rejected the Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, calling it imposing "impossible conditions."
Israel has not officially responded to Al-Haja's comments, but ministers have repeatedly said that Hamas must disarm completely and that it cannot play any role in the future governance of Gaza. The cease-fire offer Israel has made through Egyptian mediators includes talks on a final solution to the war, but no firm agreement.
Defense Minister Israel Katz also said this week that troops would remain in a buffer zone around the border that now extends deep into Gaza and cuts the enclave in two.
Photo: EPA/ATEF SAFADI
