Mediators were awaiting an Israeli response Tuesday to a fresh Gaza ceasefire plan, a day after Hamas accepted the proposal and signalled its readiness for a new round of talks aimed at ending nearly two years of war.

The U.N. humanitarian office says a record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half of them in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Sunday to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to expand operations in the Gaza Strip, rather than attempt to negotiate an end to the war under which Hamas would free its last hostages.

Hamas' meetings with Egyptian officials will focus on ways to stop the war, deliver aid, and "end the suffering of our people in Gaza," Hamas official Taher al-Nono said in a statement.

Demonstrators gathered at dozens of places including outside politicians’ homes, military headquarters and on major highways. They blocked lanes and lit bonfires.

The Israeli military said the relocation plan is necessary to protect civilians amid the ongoing two-year war, which has led to a humanitarian crisis.

Israel's military pounded Gaza City on Wednesday prior to a planned takeover, with another 123 people killed in the last day according to the Gaza health ministry, while militant group Hamas held further talks with Egyptian mediators.

After nearly two years of war, the Israeli military says it controls about 75 percent of Gaza. The United Nations says more than 86 percent of Gaza is within the Israeli militarized zone or under evacuation orders.

Several others injured as Israeli army targets aid seekers, displaced Palestinians, refugee camp, according to medics - Anadolu Ajansı