Dozens of bodies reported as battles rock Gaza City

Hamas-run Gaza's civil defence agency said it found around 60 bodies after Israeli troops withdrew from parts of Gaza City on Friday, as heavy fighting gripped the Palestinian territory.

The grisly discovery came as international mediators pushed on with efforts to halt the war now raging into its 10th month.

US President Joe Biden said at a NATO summit in Washington on Thursday that despite problems, US diplomats and other mediators were making "progress" towards a ceasefire and stressed that "it's time to end this war".

The bodies were found in the Tal al-Hawa and Al-Sinaa districts, the civil defence agency said. Israeli forces had moved into the neighbourhoods this week after ordering civilians to evacuate on Monday.

"There are still missing people under the rubble of destroyed homes, which is difficult for our crews to reach," agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said.

Residents and the agency said Israeli troops had pulled out after days of fighting with Hamas militants. This was not immediately confirmed by Israel.

- 'Trapped' -

Gaza's health ministry had earlier reported 32 deaths in the territory overnight, a majority of them children and women.

Israel's military said it was fighting in the Rafah area of the south, where its troops had "eliminated numerous terrorists in close-quarters combat and aerial strikes".

But the main battleground in recent days has been Gaza City, where two weeks of fighting devastated the eastern district of Shujaiya.

The Israeli army dropped thousands of leaflets on Wednesday urging all Gaza City residents to flee what it called a "dangerous combat zone" -- an area where the United Nations said up to 350,000 people were sheltering.

Teacher Tariq Ghanem said the Israeli army had wreaked "massive destruction" on Al-Rimal, one of Gaza City's most vibrant neighbourhoods before the war.

"The houses are on fire and there are shells everywhere," the 57-year-old said.

"There have been bodies on the roads for the past week and... there is no one to retrieve them. There are injured people everywhere and no one can reach them."

The International Committee of the Red Cross said "entire families are trapped and desperately seek security. The huge needs are beyond our capacity to respond".

The ICRC said Gaza City residents had been instructed to move south "to areas that are overcrowded, lacking in essential services and are experiencing hostilities".

- Truce talks -

Israel and Hamas have engaged in months of indirect talks via Qatari, US and Egyptian mediators to reach a still elusive truce and hostage release deal.

Talks took place in Doha on Wednesday, while Israel said it was sending a delegation to Cairo on Thursday evening for further negotiations.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist that any deal must allow Israel to meet all its war aims -- destroying Hamas as well as bringing home all the hostages.

He also says Israel needs to maintain control of Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

Biden has laid out what he called an Israeli plan which would see a six-week truce in which hostages held in Gaza would be freed in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli prisons. A second phase would see talks on a full end to the war.

On Thursday, he said: "That framework is now agreed on by both Israel and Hamas.

"There are still gaps to close, but we’re making progress, the trend is positive, and I’m determined to get this deal done and bring an end to this war, which should end now."

Biden again pressed Israel for a "day-after" plan for Gaza and spoke of diplomatic efforts to persuade Arab states to help with security.

Hamas has proposed an independent and non-partisan government for both post-war Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said Hossam Badran, a member of the group's political bureau.

- 'Deeper circles of hell' -

The war started with Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, including 42 the military says are dead.

Israel responded with a military offensive that has killed at least 38,345 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

The war has also triggered a humanitarian crisis, with shortages of food and medicines. The World Health Organization said that only five trucks carrying medical supplies were allowed into Gaza last week, while over 70 more are waiting at the border.

UN chief Antonio Guterres appealed to donor governments Friday to resume funding the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, warning there was no alternative to UNRWA as a conduit for aid to Gazans despite longstanding Israeli opposition to the agency.

"Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse in Gaza -- somehow, appallingly, civilians are being pushed into ever deeper circles of hell," he said.

Without further funding, UNRWA would be unable to function beyond August, its chief Philippe Lazzarini said.

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