Egypt leads effort for Gaza ceasefire

Representatives from Islamic Jihad, a militant group at war with Israel, said on Sunday that they were in contact with the Egyptian government to discuss a possible ceasefire. This comes amid the worst violence Gaza has experienced since an 11-day war in May last year.

That conflict devastated the enclave and claimed 250 lives, and there are fears the current fighting could escalate to similar levels of destruction. But on Sunday, Israel also confirmed that it was in talks with Egypt to broker a truce.

Israel's military said it has "neutralised" the leadership of the Islamic Jihad militant group in Gaza, where at least 32 people, including six children, have been killed in three days of Israeli strikes on the Palestinian territory.

Islamic Jihad has responded by firing hundreds of rockets into Israel without causing major casualties or damage.

The Israeli military said it was continuing its attacks on Sunday with strikes on the militant group's tunnels, while Islamic Jihad fired rockets towards Jerusalem for the first time during the latest conflict.

Gaza's health authorities said six children were among 32 people killed so far in the Israeli strikes, while 215 people were injured. Gaza's top hospital director Muhammad Abu Salmiyav issued a warning on Sunday that drugs and electricity supplies were urgently needed to keep treating patients.

Israel said it had "irrefutable" evidence that some of the children were killed when a rocket fired by Islamic Jihad landed in the Jabaliya area in northern Gaza on Saturday. The military shared a video on its Twitter count that appeared to show a rocket falling to earth shortly after launch.

Israel's military has said its aerial and artillery campaign against Islamic Jihad could last a week. However, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said Cairo was talking "around the clock" with both sides to ease the violence. The Israeli government also confirmed on Sunday that it was in talks with Egypt.

The UAE, China, France, Ireland and Norway have requested a closed meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday to discuss the developments in Gaza, state news agency Wam reported, citing an official at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation.

"The United Arab Emirates has emphasised the need to restore calm to the Gaza Strip, reduce escalation, and preserve civilian lives," Afra Mahash Al Hameli, director of the ministry's Strategic Communications Department, said in a statement carried by Wam.

Israel has said it was necessary to launch a "pre-emptive" operation against Islamic Jihad, because the group was planning an attack following days of tensions along the border with Gaza.

The head of the army's operations directorate, Oded Basiok, said the entire "senior leadership of the military wing of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza has been neutralised".

Islamic Jihad has confirmed the deaths of Tayseer Al Jabari, a senior commander, in an air strike in Gaza city on Friday, and of Khaled Mansour, commander of its southern Gaza division, in a strike in Rafah on Saturday.

Eight people were killed in the Rafah strike, including a 14-year-old, Gaza's Interior Ministry reported.

With injuries mounting, Gaza's Health Ministry warned that vital services could be suspended within 72 hours after the territory's only power plant shut down on Saturday.

An electricity company spokesman said the plant had run out of fuel after Israel blocked the entry of all goods into Gaza earlier in the week.

The exchange of fire has brought life to a standstill in Gaza and forced civilians in southern and central Israel into air-raid shelters since Friday.

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said two people were taken to hospital with shrapnel wounds and 13 others were lightly hurt while running for safety.

In Kibbutz Nahal Oz, an Israeli community beside the Gaza border, resident Nadav Peretz said he had been "in the bomb shelter or around it" since Friday.

"We recognise that on the other side too there is an uninvolved civilian population, and on both sides children deserve to enjoy their summer vacation," the 40-year-old said.

Islamic Jihad is aligned with Hamas, but often acts independently. Both are blacklisted as terrorist organisations by much of the West.

Hamas has fought four wars with Israel since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, including the conflict last May.

A flare-up with Islamic Jihad came in 2019, following Israel's killing of Baha Abu Al Ata, Al Jabari's predecessor. Hamas did not join that conflict.

Hamas's moves now could prove crucial, with the group facing pressure from some to restore calm to improve economic conditions in Gaza.

Focus will in part turn to Jerusalem on Sunday, where some Jews will mark the Tisha Be'av remembrance day by visiting the city's most sensitive religious site, Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Israel-annexed East Jerusalem.

Tensions at the compound, which is also sacred to Jews, have previously sparked wider violence. Hamas's Doha-based chief, Ismail Haniyeh, issued a warning against allowing Jews to "storm" the compound on Sunday, saying it could lead to an "uncontrollable" security crisis given the events in Gaza.

Extreme-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben Gvir was scheduled to visit the compound on Sunday morning.

With reporting from agencies.