Israeli strikes pound Gaza City, which tens of thousands have fled in recent days

Israeli strikes pounded Gaza City overnight into Thursday as ground forces battled Hamas militants in dense urban neighbourhoods from which tens of thousands have fled in recent days.

Israeli strikes pounded Gaza City overnight into Thursday as ground forces battled Hamas militants in dense urban neighbourhoods from which tens of thousands have fled in recent days.

Israeli troops were around 3 kilometres (2 miles) from Shifa Hospital in the heart of downtown, the hospital's director said. Israel has been vague on troop movements, but officials say Gaza's largest city is the focus of their campaign to crush Hamas following its deadly Oct. 7 assault inside Israel.

Amid a drumbeat of international concern over dire conditions inside Gaza, mediators were closing in on a possible deal for a three-day cease-fire in exchange for the release of around a dozen hostages held by Hamas, according to two Egyptian officials, a United Nations official and a Western diplomat. The deal would also allow a small amount of fuel to enter the territory, which is currently reliant on generators for electricity, for the first time since the war began.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said any temporary cease-fire would have to be accompanied by the release of hostages. Israel has said around 240 hostages are currently held in Gaza. Their plight has galvanized Israeli support for the war despite growing international concerns.

Western and Arab officials gathered in Paris on Thursday to discuss ways of providing more aid to civilians in Gaza, a day after the Group of Seven wealthy democracies, which includes close allies of Israel, called for the "unimpeded" delivery of food, water, medicine and fuel, and for "humanitarian pauses" in the fighting.

The possible cease-fire deal is being brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, a Persian Gulf country that mediates with Hamas.

A senior U.S. official said the Biden administration has suggested Israel tie the length of a pause to a certain number of hostages being released in a formula that could be used for additional pauses. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of impacting the delicate, ongoing negotiations.