Palestinians walk past building rubble following Israeli air strikes on the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on February 24, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (PHOTO / AFP)

JERUSALEM / GAZA / CAIRO - Israel's war cabinet decided on Saturday that a delegation will depart next week to the Qatari capital Doha to continue the talks over a Gaza truce deal, an Israeli official told Xinhua.

The delegation, which would be comprised of non-senior officials, is mandated to discuss technical aspects of the humanitarian issues in the deal, said the official.

The deal that is expected to be reached involves a pause in the four-and-a-half-month war, the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, as well as increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza.

A cabinet discussion was held over the telephone and the ministers received an update about the talks in Paris. The talks, led by Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators, were held over the weekend.

Israeli officials said the talks held in Paris were constructive and the general outline of an agreement was reached. However, Hamas later denied significant progress had been achieved.

The Israeli delegation, headed by Mossad intelligence agency chief David Barnea, Shin Bet internal security chief Ronen Bar and army officials, returned early on Saturday morning from Paris.

A new outline for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and a truce was achieved in the talks, which were brokered by Qatari and US negotiators, an Israeli official told Israel's state-owned Kan TV news.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Saturday that he will seek Cabinet approval next week for a ground operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population seeks shelter from Israel's bombings elsewhere

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Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Saturday that he will seek Cabinet approval next week for a ground operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population seeks shelter from Israel's bombings elsewhere.

Writing on X, Netanyahu said that he will convene his Cabinet at the beginning of the upcoming week to approve "the operational plans for action in Rafah, including the evacuation of the civilian population."

"Only a combination of military pressure and firm negotiations will lead to the release of our hostages, the elimination of Hamas, and the achievement of all the war's objectives," he wrote.

Rafah, the Gaza Strip's southernmost city, has become a sprawling refugee camp, densely populated by about 1.4 million people who have fled from the Israeli attacks in regions further north in the Palestinian enclave.

Smoke billows following Israeli bombardment on eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 24, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (PHOTO / AFP)

The United Nations has warned that an extension of Israel's military operation in Rafah will have "dire humanitarian consequences."

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 29,606, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Saturday.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 92 Palestinians and wounded 123 others, contributing to a cumulative death toll of 29,606 and 69,737 wounded.

Hamas-run media office in Gaza said in a press statement that 132 Palestinian journalists have been killed by the Israeli army since Oct 7.

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The Palestinian Red Crescent Society stated on Friday that its crews evacuated 18 wounded individuals from Nasser Medical Hospital in the city of Khan Younis, located in the southern Gaza Strip, as the hospital was out of service.

Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.

Also on Saturday, Egypt started building another camp for internally displaced people in Khan Younis city south of the besieged Palestinian Gaza Strip, the country's Al-Qahera News TV channel reported.

Palestinians make their way along a street dumped with garbage in Gaza City on February 24, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian militant Hamas movement. (PHOTO / AFP)

The new camp "will have a capacity of 400 tents and can accommodate about 4,000 people, and it will be equipped with electricity, water, and restrooms," Al-Qahera News quoted an unnamed source as saying, noting the camp will be completed by the end of this week.

Egypt established a similar camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis in December 2023.

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Following the completion of the second camp, a field hospital and two humanitarian aid distribution centers will be established in Gaza's city of Rafah and another camp in Deir al-Balah, the report added.

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has been a major lifeline to provide the enclave with relief supplies, donated by Egypt and other countries as well as local and international organizations.