The possible Israeli military operation in Rafah, in the south of the Strip, is approaching.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the plans of the army which is now working to prepare the evacuation of over a million displaced Palestinians amassed in the southernmost city of Gaza, before taking action.
At the same time, Netanyahu and the security cabinet decided to send a delegation to Doha, Qatar to discuss the latest requests made by Hamas for a truce and the release of the hostages.
Requests - including the total withdrawal of the IDF from the Strip - which Netanyahu himself has once again defined as "unacceptable".
Despite this, Israel seems to have chosen - analysts have pointed out - to leave no stone unturned, also due to the growing pressure from the families of the hostages in favor of an agreement that will bring home the 134 kidnapped people still in Gaza.
Netanyahu's decision on Rafah would be necessary - in his opinion - to defeat the last battalions of Hamas.
The army recently announced that it will take at least two weeks to move the population from the area.
The evacuation of the population is the minimum condition requested by the US, which however would prefer Israel to renounce it completely.
Palestinian President Abu Mazen also appealed to the United States and the international community to "stop the operation in Rafah".
And to underline the growing disagreement with Netanyahu, President Joe Biden called Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer's statements on the need for new elections in Israel "a good speech".
"But it is up to the Israelis to decide", the White House then clarified, revealing a "cautious optimism" about the possibilities of a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, the first details emerge on Hamas's proposal to the mediators of Qatar and Egypt for the truce which, according to international media reports, provides for an agreement in three phases, each lasting 42 days.
In the first, women, children, elderly and sick people held hostage would be released in exchange for 700-1000 Palestinian prisoners, of which 100 serving life sentences in Israeli prisons for the release of Israeli female soldiers.
Hamas also expects a permanent ceasefire after the initial exchange of hostages and detainees.
According to other sources, Hamas' proposal includes the immediate withdrawal of the IDF from two important arteries that cross the length of the Strip: al-Rashid (the coastal road) and Salah a-Din (which runs inland ).
Meanwhile, on the 161st day of the war, the first aid ship from Cyprus arrived on the coasts of the Strip - via a maritime corridor protected by Israel: it was the Spanish Open Arms which began unloading 200 tonnes of goods from a temporary pier. basic necessities, largely food and water, made available by the American World Central Kitchen.
The Israeli army then strongly contested the Islamic faction's complaint that soldiers had fired on crowds waiting for help in northern Gaza, causing - according to the Hamas Ministry of Health - 21 deaths and dozens of injuries.
"Armed Palestinians - replied the military spokesperson at the end of the investigation into the matter - opened fire while civilians in Gaza were waiting for the arrival of the convoy" of 31 trucks sent by the army.
"Hamas terrorists - underlined the spokesperson - continue to harm civilians who are looking for food and blame Israel".
The IDF also released a video whose "images show Palestinian armed men shooting yesterday at a crowd of Gazans in the Zeitun neighborhood".
The deaths in the Strip - according to data from the Ministry of Health which cannot be independently verified - have reached 31,490, while the injured are 74,439.
In Jerusalem, the first Friday of Ramadan took place without incident on the Temple Mount where, according to Wafa, around 80 thousand faithful gathered.
While Hamas attacked President Abu Mazen's choice to appoint Muhammad Mustafa as prime minister in charge of forming the new government in Ramallah as "unilateral" and divisive.
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