Israel holds ceasefire talks with Hamas, as new ground operation in Gaza begins

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s military on Sunday said it has launched a new ground offensive in Gaza, as the sides entered their first round of serious ceasefire talks in months.

The ground operation comes following an intensified week of Israeli airstrikes – which Gaza health officials say have killed around 500 Palestinians in the last five days, including many women and children.

“They’re gone,” wailed Raoutha Naser in a Gaza City morgue, mourning her sister and her sister’s children, who were killed in an Israeli strike Sunday morning. It killed twenty Palestinians, including five women and five children, Gaza health officials said.

Israel says it targeted hundreds of Hamas sites and killed dozens of militants, and is vowing to gradually expand its offensive to increase military pressure on Hamas.

Israel is also planning to renew food aid to Gaza, with a U.S.-backed initiative aiming to begin aid distribution on May 24, according to a person familiar with the group’s plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement by Israel.

Israeli officials estimate that Palestinian civilians have seven to ten days left of food in Gaza, according to a second person familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to speak publicly and shared the assessment with NPR on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. says it is “actively engaged” in Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks

Israel says ceasefire talks with Hamas began Saturday in Qatar and are continuing. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS’s Face the Nation on Saturday that the U.S. is “actively engaged” in the ceasefire talks, which are aiming to try to free more Israeli hostages.

Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi announced talks were ongoing, with no preconditions. Israel’s prime minister’s office says it is willing to negotiate the terms of a permanent end of the war, not just a temporary ceasefire. Israel’s refusal to commit to ending the war has been a major stumbling block to reaching a ceasefire.

It was unclear whether the talks would lead to a breakthrough toward a ceasefire in the 19-month war in Gaza. Israel’s prime minister’s office said the end of the war would require the “exile of Hamas militants and the disarmament” of Gaza, which Hamas has so far refused.

The sides are negotiating a two month ceasefire, on the condition that about ten living hostages are released on the first day of the ceasefire, according to a person who was briefed on the matter.

The diplomacy comes after an extraordinary week in the region. Hamas released the last living U.S. citizen held hostage in Gaza, saying it was a goodwill gesture to President Trump as he visited Gulf Arab allies. Israel sent ceasefire negotiators to Qatar, as it ratched up airstrikes in Gaza.

Palestinians are fleeing strikes in north Gaza with little to eat

Palestinians in Jabalia in north Gaza say the Israeli bombardment, coupled with military leaflets ordering them to flee, is the most intense series of strikes since the very beginning of the war, when Israel began its retaliation for the Hamas attacks of October 2023.

“This time is definitely different from the times before,” said Kareem Joudeh, a resident of Jabalia. “Clear evacuation orders indicate the seriousness and intentions of Israel in this operation, and people are sensing the seriousness of the situation.”

Families fled on donkey carts, in cars and on foot, taking mattresses and what little food they had left. Some fleeing the north also took with them the bodies of loved ones killed in recent strikes, as a key north Gaza hospital, the Indonesian Hospital, went out of service amid Israeli bombardment.

In the shade of a partially damaged building, the seven-member Abu Nassar family took a break from their journey evacuating south, as airstrikes echoed in the distance.

Majdi Abu Nassar said they fled after Israeli tanks rolled up near their home in Jabalia. He said he saw a fire blazing in the Indonesian Hospital nearby. He said he was carrying spoiled and infested flour, beans and lentils.

“We have no food,” Abu Nassar said.

Details of Israel’s plans to resume food supplies to Gaza

Israel has been blocking all food, medicine and supplies into Gaza for 11 weeks now, the longest ever total blockade it has ever imposed on Gaza. Israel says its purpose is to pressure Hamas to agree to a ceasefire deal on terms that are favorable to Israel.

But Israel is relenting amid international pressure to allow food into the territory. A United Nations-backed group of experts on hunger said there was a risk of famine in Gaza.The U.S.-led initiative tapped to distribute the aid is a charity run by a U.S. military veteran called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

The United Nations and its partner aid groups, which have run aid distribution in Gaza throughout the war, said they would refuse to participate in the new aid initiative, calling it an Israeli plan to weaponize aid for military purposes. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it would operate according to humanitarian principles.

In order to receive aid under a proposed Israeli plan, Gaza’s population would be forced to move south in a new zone cordoned off by Israel’s military. This is to prevent Hamas members from access to aid, an Israeli defense official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to divulge details.

NPR’s Anas Baba reported from Gaza City, and Abu Bakr Bashir reported from London.