WASHINGTON: The United States is pushing for a truce in Gaza by "sometime next week," US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday.
The Republican leader was asked by reporters if a ceasefire in the devastating war between Israel and Palestinians could be in place before a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House, set for July 7.
"We hope it's going to happen and we're looking for it to happen sometime next week," Trump responded as he departed Washington for Florida.
The swift resolution of Israel's 12-day war with Iran has revived hopes for a halt to the fighting in Gaza, where more than 20 months of combat have created dire humanitarian conditions for the population of more than two million.
Trump has previously urged Israel to "make the deal in Gaza," but on the ground, Israel has continued to pursue its offensive across the Palestinian territory.
Israeli planes and tanks struck heavily in north and south Gaza on Tuesday, destroying clusters of homes, while Netanyahu's confidant was in Washington, expected to discuss a possible ceasefire.
Thousands of Gaza residents again took flight as Israel issued new orders to evacuate, while its tanks pushed into eastern areas of Gaza City in the north and into Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south, residents said.
Local health authorities said Israeli gunfire and military strikes across the enclave had killed at least 112 people and wounded more than 400 in the past 24 hours, with clusters of houses reported destroyed in Gaza City's Shejaia and Zeitoun districts, east of Khan Yunis and in Rafah. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
The intensified operations came after days of mounting calls for a ceasefire, with Trump among those urging Israel to strike a new deal to halt the war and bring home the hostages still held in Gaza.
Israel's campaign to destroy the Palestinian group Hamas has continued unabated, however, with Gaza's civil defence agency reporting Israeli forces killed 17 people on Tuesday.
In response to reports of deadly strikes in the north and south of the territory, the Israeli army said it was "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities".
Separately, it said on Tuesday morning that in recent days it had "expanded its operations to additional areas within the Gaza Strip, eliminating dozens of terrorists and dismantling hundreds of terror infrastructure sites both above and below ground".
Hamas official Taher al Nunu said the group is "ready to agree to any proposal if it will lead to an end to the war and a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of occupation forces". "So far, there has been no breakthrough." — AFP
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