GAZA: Israeli forces in northern Gaza come under Palestinian mortar and rocket fire at least four times over a monitoring period between Thursday and Friday, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) report.

The Netzarim Corridor – a military highway built by the Israelis to dissect the Gaza Strip north from south – was again the scene of Palestinian attacks with Hamas fighters deploying the “Rajum” multi-rocket launcher platform against Israeli forces deployed on the military route.

Hamas said its delegation was heading to Cairo to resume Gaza truce talks, as the United Nations warned that Israel’s threatened assault on the city of Rafah could produce a “bloodbath”, AFP reports.

Foreign mediators have been waiting for the Palestinian militant group to respond to a proposal to halt fighting for 40 days and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

“The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday.

Blinken on Friday also reiterated Washington’s objections to the long-threatened Rafah offensive, saying Israel has not presented a plan to protect the civilians sheltering there.

“Absent such a plan, we can’t support a major military operation going into Rafah because the damage it would do is beyond what’s acceptable,” he said.