Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Saturday that the deployment of international forces in Gaza remains possible should the Palestinian side request it, urging Israel to accept the ceasefire proposal presented by US envoy Steve Witkoff.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Cairo with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, Abdelatty accused Israel of blocking de-escalation efforts. “Israel’s intransigence is the main obstacle to progress toward a ceasefire,” he said, adding that Tel Aviv is using starvation “as a weapon of war” against Gaza’s population.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 68 people were killed and 362 wounded in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll since October 7, 2023, to more than 64,000, with nearly 162,000 injured. It said 23 of the victims were killed while waiting for humanitarian aid.
The Gaza government media office reported that after 700 days of war, around 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been destroyed, with initial losses exceeding $68bn. It said Israeli forces now control more than 80% of Gaza’s territory through military force and mass displacement. The office added that more than 73,000 people have been killed, including 20,000 children and 12,500 women, while thousands of families have been wiped out entirely. Among the dead were 1,670 medical workers and 248 journalists.
Israel’s offensive has also destroyed 38 hospitals, 833 mosques, and 163 educational institutions, while maintaining a blockade that has left 2.4 million people — including more than 1 million children — on the brink of famine.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said some 3,000 new displacement cases were recorded in Gaza over two days as civilians moved from north to south. He added that violence in the occupied West Bank has surged 39% since the start of 2025 compared with last year, with 2,780 Palestinians injured by Israeli forces and settlers.
Meanwhile, Israel urged residents of Gaza City to move to the southern “humanitarian zone” in Al-Mawasi as it prepared for a large-scale ground offensive.
On the battlefield, Hamas’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said its fighters destroyed three Israeli Merkava tanks near Salah Al-Din Mosque and Al-Zaytoun Clinic in southern Gaza City on 31 August.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump said “very deep” negotiations are underway with Hamas to secure the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. He warned the group of “something bad” if it fails to comply.
