The armed wing of Hamas says its fighters managed to detonate two makeshift explosive devices and inflict casualties on Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza.
The Qassam Brigades said, also releasing a video of the ambush that a barrel explosive and a shock explosive device were blown up “as enemy forces dismounted from vehicles” near the al-Hawouz area west of the besieged development Hamad City north of Khan Younis.
It also reported that Palestinian fighters targeted a group of 10 Israeli soldiers with an antipersonnel shell in the vicinity of a university building in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood south of Gaza City in the northern part of the enclave.
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Meanwhile, at least nine Palestinians have been killed and dozens are injured after more Israeli air attacks targeting the central part of the Gaza Strip.
Medical sources told Al Jazeera that an air attack that hit a residential home in the Nuseirat refugee camp killed five people and injured 20 more, including children.
The Palestinian Civil Defence confirmed the casualties, saying members of the as-Saidi family were hit in the Block C area of Nuseirat.
Medical sources added that an air attack targeted a home east of Deir el-Balah, killing four people and injuring more, with the wounded arriving at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
A video verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency Sanad showed the aftermath of the bombing in Nuseirat, with civil defence and ambulance crews rushing to evacuate victims and contain a fire.
In another development, the United State Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on another trip to the region to shore up the possibility of a Gaza ceasefire and will face a new set of problems.
According to Samuel Ramani, a fellow at the Royal United Service Institute from London, “Hamas is unwilling to engage with these talks because they say it will impose American diktats on them, and they’re sceptical that Israel might add conditions at the last minute. They’re accusing the Americans of trying to provide cover for genocide and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza makes it more complicated,” he told Al Jazeera.
Ramani pointed out that US arms transfers to Israel are ongoing, with Washington sending $3.5bn in arms on the same day that US Vice President Kamala Harris was calling for a ceasefire.
“I think what the Biden administration has been doing is holding backchannel conversations with Israel to urge them to move in the direction of accepting the ceasefire and to detach Netanyahu from the influence of some of his right-wing partners. That hasn’t necessarily worked,” the analyst said.
“I think that backchannel pressure is what will be continuing with Blinken’s visit and meeting with Netanyahu,” Ramani said, adding that US President Joe Biden would want at least some sort of a temporary regional de-escalation before the November election.
In the the same vein, houndred of Palestinians in Israel have joined an initiative to collect donations to be sent to Gaza, as the United Nations and other groups warn of worsening malnutrition.
The campaign “Standing Together”, organised by Palestinians in Israel and some Israelis, aims to gather tonnes of food items and other supplies to be sent through United Nations trucks into Gaza, organisers said.
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The campaign, which is touring all Palestinian cities and towns in Israel, encourages people to get diapers, canned food and other products.
According to one of the organisers, Alon-Lee Green, the campaign aims to end starvation in the enclave, which he blames on the Israeli government. The campaign will also be in some mixed Palestinian-Israeli cities, such as Jaffa and Haifa.
The UN says Gaza is on the verge of famine, with the entire population experiencing high levels of food insecurity, half at the highest level of catastrophe, and mass death imminent unless more aid arrives immediately.