Israel Continues Offensive in Southern Gaza

Israel's army pushed with its campaign in southern Gaza to destroy Hamas as prospects dimmed for a ceasefire in the more than four-month-old war.

A total of 127 people died in 24 hours, Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry said, as the main battlefront edged closer to far-southern Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians live in crowded shelters and tent camps.

Israel's top ally the United States signaled it would veto the latest push for a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, as Washington instead favors a temporary truce and hostage release deal.

And mediator Qatar acknowledged that separate ceasefire talks had also hit an impasse after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected some Hamas demands as "ludicrous".

Israel has concentrated its military operations in Khan Yunis, the hometown of Hamas's Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, whom it accuses of masterminding the October 7 attack.

Netanyahu vowed the ground invasion of Rafah would go ahead, arguing that failing to launch it would mean to "lose the war".

The military says it is working to move civilians from the area to minimize casualties, but has not revealed exact details of its evacuation plan.

Netanyahu's government also rejected pressure from some Western governments that would aim for unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.

Latest strikes and fighting killed at least 10 people in Rafah and in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah overnight, said the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

At the morgue of a Rafah hospital, mourners bent down to give a final kiss to a loved one wrapped in a white body bag.

Israel's retaliatory bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza have killed at least 28,985 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry.