Israeli planes and tanks struck heavily in north and south Gaza on Tuesday, destroying clusters of homes, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's confidant was in Washington, expected to discuss a possible ceasefire.
A Palestinian man inspects the site of an Israeli strike on a house that took place on Monday, in Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip, July 1, 2025.Reuters/Ramadan Abed
Israeli planes and tanks struck heavily in north and south Gaza on Tuesday, destroying clusters of homes, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 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 Younis and Rafah in the south, residents said.
Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu, is in Washington this week to meet with officials at the White House, President Donald Trump's spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing on Monday.
Dermer would be exploring possibilities of regional diplomatic deals in the wake of Israel's 12-day war with Iran last month, as well as ending the Gaza war, according to an Israeli official.
Netanyahu said on Tuesday he expects to travel to the United States next week to meet Trump. A U.S. official said the meeting would be on July 7.
The two leaders are expected to discuss Iran, Gaza, Syria and other regional challenges, an Israeli official in Washington said.
CEASEFIRE EFFORTS STALLED
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said pressure by Trump on Israel would be key to any breakthrough in stalled ceasefire efforts.
"We call upon the U.S. administration to atone for its sin towards Gaza by declaring an end to the war," he said.
After a six-week ceasefire at the start of this year, talks on extending the truce in the nearly 21-month war have stalled.
Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said that mediators Qatar and Egypt had stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but that no date had been set yet for a new round of truce talks.
Hamas says it is willing to release all remaining hostages only as part of a deal that would end the war. Israel says the hostages must go free, and the war can end only when Hamas is disarmed and no longer ruling Gaza.
Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will discuss the situations in Gaza and Iran when he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House next week, adding that he hopes to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza soon.
Israel is interested in establishing official diplomatic ties with old foes Syria and Lebanon, but will not negotiate the fate of the Golan Heights in any peace agreement, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a press conference on Monday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday the 12-day war with Iran had created opportunities for Israel, and the first was the return of hostages held in Gaza by Palestinian militants who attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
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