Israelis rally for hostage deal as ceasefire talks continue

Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied precocious into the nighttime calling for a woody to bring hostages home, up of further ceasefire talks.

Protesters successful Tel Aviv chanted "war is not holy, beingness is", with immoderate accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of aiming to prolong the conflict.

It came arsenic a Hamas delegation met mediators successful Egypt connected Saturday.

The radical said determination were nary caller developments, but added "a caller circular volition begin" connected Sunday.

Negotiators person resumed long-running negotiations successful Cairo - brokered by Egypt and Qatar - connected pausing Israel's violative successful Gaza successful instrumentality for freeing hostages.

The main sticking constituent appears to beryllium whether the woody would beryllium impermanent oregon permanent.

It is thought the wording being discussed involves a 40-day intermission successful warring portion hostages are released, and the merchandise of a fig of Palestinian prisoners being held successful Israeli jails.

An advisor to the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said the radical was looking astatine the latest connection with "full seriousness".

But helium repeated a request that immoderate woody would person to explicitly see an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and implicit extremity to the war.

An anonymous Israeli authorities authoritative told section media connected Saturday that Israel would "under nary circumstances hold to extremity the warfare arsenic portion of an statement to escaped our abductees".

They added: "The IDF volition participate Rafah and destruct the remaining Hamas battalions determination - whether determination is simply a impermanent intermission to escaped our captives oregon not."

Mr Netanyahu has faced unit from wrong his far-right conjugation to property up with the long-promised violative successful Gaza's southern-most city, wherever an estimated 1.4 cardinal radical person taken structure aft fleeing warring successful bluish and cardinal parts of the strip.

The US - Israel's biggest diplomatic and subject state - is reluctant to backmost a caller violative that could origin important civilian casualties, and has insisted connected seeing a program to support displaced Palestinians first.

Saturday's demonstrations successful Israel were the latest show of the accrued home unit Mr Netanyahu is facing to unafraid the instrumentality of the hostages.

Of the 252 who were kidnapped by Hamas connected 7 October, 128 are inactive unaccounted for - and among them, astatine slightest 34 are presumed dead.

Natalie Eldor, a protester successful Tel Aviv, told Reuters quality bureau she was determination to "support a woody now, yesterday".

"We request to bring each the hostages back, the unrecorded ones, the dormant ones. We got to bring them back. We got to power this government," she added.

Some who gathered astatine the Kirya subject basal successful Tel Aviv accused the premier curate of undermining the projected truce, portion others called for an extremity to the war.

Addressing the prospects of a truce connected Saturday, curate Benny Gantz, a subordinate of Israel's warfare cabinet, said: "An authoritative effect to the outline has not yet been received. When accepted - the warfare absorption furniture volition conscionable and sermon it.

"Until then, I suggest to the 'political sources' and each decision-makers to hold for authoritative updates, to enactment calmly and not to get into hysteria for governmental reasons."

Ceasefire talks person gone connected for months without a breakthrough, and determination has not been a intermission successful warring oregon a merchandise of hostages since the extremity of November.

There person been moments astatine which a caller statement has seemed imminent - lone to autumn done earlier being signed.

A root acquainted with this latest circular of discussions told the BBC that the negotiations were inactive complex, and immoderate breakthrough could inactive instrumentality respective days.

Meanwhile, the caput of the United Nations' World Food Programme has warned that bluish Gaza is present experiencing a "full-blown famine".

Cindy McCain warned the catastrophic concern successful the territory was spreading southbound successful an interrogation with US media.

"What we are asking for and what we've continually asked for is simply a ceasefire and the quality to person unfettered entree to get successful safe," Ms McCain said.

The warfare successful Gaza began aft waves of Hamas gunmen stormed crossed Gaza's borderline into Israel connected 7 October, sidesplitting astir 1,200 radical and taking much than 250 hostages. The radical is proscribed arsenic a violent organisation by galore Western countries.

During the consequent Israeli subject run successful Gaza, much than 34,600 Palestinians person been killed and implicit 77,900 wounded, according to figures from the territory's Hamas-run wellness ministry.

Additional reporting by Anna Foster and Andre Rhoden-Paul