Ceasefire talks advance as Hamas delegation engages in Cairo

A senior Hamas official said on Friday that a delegation will arrive in Cairo on May 4 to negotiate a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

According to the official, the Hamas delegation, upon arriving, will respond in writing to Israel's latest proposals for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of detainees. Various Egyptian government sources also confirmed this and said the Egyptian side would meet with Hamas to discuss the latest developments in the ceasefire negotiations.

In a statement, Hamas officials said they had recently examined the negotiated agreement and are committed to reaching an agreement that would benefit Palestinians.

Local media reported that it demonstrated Hamas's "positive spirit" towards the negotiations.

Israel gave Hamas a week to accept the ceasefire agreement proposal or it would begin a military operation in Rafah, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an Egyptian official.

Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a ground offensive in Rafah will proceed regardless of any potential truce deal with Hamas.

Türkiye halts trade with Israel

Türkiye said on Friday it will not resume trade with Israel, worth $7 billion a year, until a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian aid are secured in Gaza, becoming the first of Israel's key commercial partners to take such a step.

Israel's "uncompromising attitude" and the worsening situation in Gaza's Rafah region prompted Ankara to halt all exports and imports, Omer Bolat, Türkiye's trade minister, said.

Following Türkiye's decision, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday it would work towards reducing economic connection between Türkiye and the West Bank and Gaza.

Additionally, the ministry said it would take action in international economic forums to explore sanctions against Türkiye for violating trade agreements, create an alternative list of partners for the Israeli economy across various sectors and products, and support affected Israeli export sectors.

Prominent Gazan doctor dies in Israeli prison

A senior Palestinian doctor died in an Israeli prison after more than four months of detention, two Palestinian prisoner associations said on Thursday, blaming Israel for his death.

The associations said in a joint statement that Adnan Al-Bursh, head of orthopedics at Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest medical facility, had been detained by Israeli forces while temporarily working at Al-Awada Hospital in north Gaza.

The death of a prominent Gazan doctor in Israeli custody has heightened concerns over the humanitarian crisis in the enclave. 

An Israeli incursion into the southern city of Rafah in Gaza could lead to a "slaughter" and worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in the region, the UN's humanitarian office and health agency warned on Friday. 

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that Al-Bursh's death raises the number of medical sector workers killed by Israel since October 7 to 496. It added that 1,500 others had been wounded, while 309 had been arrested.

Only 33 percent of Gaza's 36 hospitals and 30 percent of primary health care centers are partially functional amid repeated attacks and shortages of vital medical supplies, fuel and staff, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

WHO is making contingency plans to ensure the health system can continue providing care, but these plans would only be a "band-aid," said Richard Peeperkorn, representative in WHO's office for the West Bank and Gaza.

With more than 1.2 million people crammed into Rafah, the city's ailing health system could not withstand the potential devastation if Israel launches an incursion into the region, Peeperkorn said.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza would be at imminent risk of death in case of an assault, warned Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at a press briefing on Friday in Geneva.

(With input from agencies)