Hamas is "close to reaching a truce agreement" with Israel, the group's chief, Ismail Haniyeh, said in a statement.

The comments issued to journalists gave no more details, but a Hamas official told Al Jazeera TV that negotiations were centered on how long the truce would last, arrangements for delivery of aid into Gaza and the exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. 

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The deal is being brokered by Qatar, which hosts political representatives of Hamas, including Haniyeh. It is expected to involve the release of a number of mainly women and children from among around 240 hostages seized during October 7 raids on southern Israel. Palestinian prisoners held by Israel would likely be freed in return.

There was no immediate response from Tel Aviv. 

Israel has generally avoided giving commentary on the status of the Qatar-led talks. Israel's Channel 12 television quoted an unidentified senior government source saying "they are close" but gave no further details.

About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel during the October 7 attack in addition to the scores taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. In Gaza, more than 13,300 people, at least 5,600 of them children, have been killed in Israel's response, officials in the Hamas-run territory said.

Around two-thirds of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been made homeless, with thousands a day still trekking south on foot with belongings and children in their arms. The central and southern parts of the enclave, where Israel has told them to go, have also regularly come under attack.

Agreement likely 'in the coming days'

Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), met Haniyeh in Qatar to "advance humanitarian issues" related to the conflict, the Geneva-based ICRC said in a statement. She also separately met Qatari authorities.

The ICRC said it was not part of negotiations aimed at releasing the hostages, but as a neutral intermediary it was ready "to facilitate any future release that the parties agree to."

Talk of an imminent hostage deal has swirled for days. There were reports last week that Qatari mediators were seeking a deal for Hamas to release 50 hostages in return for Israel freeing some prisoners and a three-day ceasefire.

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog said on ABC's This Week that he hoped for an agreement "in the coming days", while Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said that the remaining sticking points were "very minor."

'We will not stop fighting'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed there would be no letup in the army's offensive in Gaza, again pledging to crush Hamas and ensure the hostages are released. 

"We will not stop fighting until we bring our hostages home," Netanyahu declared after meeting relatives of those abducted.

Families expressed frustration after the meeting.

"We wanted to hear about a deal and that return of the abductees is a priority among the war objectives. We didn't hear that," said Udi Goren, whose cousin Tal Haimi is among the hostages.

Japan is attempting to engage in direct talks with Yemen's Houthi group following the hijacking of an Israeli-linked ship in the Red Sea, which is operated by a Japanese firm. 

Tokyo announced that it is actively seeking dialogue while simultaneously urging the international community to intervene and persuade the rebels to release both the vessel and the individuals on board who have been taken hostage.

Communications blackout in Gaza

Fuel shortages and the worsening sanitation situation in the Gaza Strip is shaping up to be the perfect storm for tragedy through the spread of disease, the United Nations warned .

The Hamas government press office said there was a communications blackout in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip after an Israeli strike hit the telecoms towers.

Gaza health authorities said at least 20 Palestinians were killed in Israeli bombing of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza at midnight. There was no immediate comment from Israel. 

The already crowded Nuseirat district, which grew out of a camp for Palestinian refugees from the 1948 Israeli-Arab war, is just south of the wetlands that bisect the strip and has been the first arrival point for huge numbers escaping the fighting further north.

Tens of thousands of civilians are believed to remain in the north despite an Israeli order to flee. 

All hospitals there have ceased functioning normally, though many are still housing patients and displaced Gazans. Israel says Hamas uses hospitals as shields for its fighters and has produced videos to support it's claims, which Hamas and the hospitals deny.

'A cemetery, not a hospital'

An Israeli airstrike targeted Hafsah school, which was sheltering displaced Palestinians in the al-Falouja area in northern Gaza. The attack caused both fatalities and injuries, according to the Arab news outlet Al-Mayadeen.

Gaza's health ministry said that at least 12 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by firing into an Indonesian-built hospital encircled by Israeli tanks. Israel says it shot back at fighters who opened fire from inside it.

Health officials said 700 patients along with staff were under Israeli fire, and have denied any fighters were present.

The head of the nursing department, Issam Nabhan, told Al Jazeera live on air that patients were dying and there were 60 dead bodies that needed to be buried in courtyards on the grounds. He called for patients and staff to be evacuated.

"There is no oxygen to supply the patients. All those on artificial respiration have died. We speak out to the free world. The Indonesian hospital has become a cemetery, not a hospital."

A World Health Organization spokesperson said that three hospitals in Israeli-besieged Gaza had requested help with evacuating patients and said that planning was underway.

WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said that the three hospitals were Al Shifa, from which a group of babies has already been rescued, Indonesian Hospital and Al Ahli Hospital.

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