Israeli army begins ‘extensive’ new ground operations in Gaza

Netanyahu signals openness to deal with Hamas and says Israel will allow some aid into Gaza

The Israeli army has announced the start of a large-scale offensive in Gaza, describing “extensive ground operations” to seize “operational control” of swaths of the devastated Palestinian territory as a second day of indirect ceasefire talks in Qatar ended without any breakthrough.

Israeli military officials said its forces had “eliminated dozens of terrorists, dismantled terrorist infrastructure sites … and [were] currently being deployed in key positions”.