Tel Aviv, 29 June

US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged progress in ceasefire talks in the 20-month war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, though some weary Palestinians were skeptical about the chances.

Israel has issued a new mass evacuation order for parts of northern Gaza.

Ron Dermer, a top advisor to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was set to travel to Washington this week for talks on a ceasefire, an Israeli official said, and plans were being made for Netanyahu to travel there in the coming weeks, a sign there may be movement on a deal.

Netanyahu was meeting with his security Cabinet on Sunday evening, the official said on condition of anonymity, to discuss plans that hadn't been finalised.

“MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!” Trump wrote on social media early Sunday.

Trump raised expectations Friday by saying there could be an agreement within next week.

Some Palestinians doubtful of latest efforts

An eight-week ceasefire was reached as Trump took office earlier this year, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.

“Since the beginning of the war, they have been promising us something like this: Release the hostages and we will stop the war,” said one Palestinian, Abdel Hadi Al-Hour.

“They did not stop the war."

Meanwhile, Israeli attacks continued. An airstrike on Sunday evening hit a house sheltering displaced people in the Jabaliya al-Nazla area, killing at least 15, according to Fares Awad, head of the Gaza's Health Ministry's ambulance and emergency services in the territory's north.

He said women and children made up over half the dead.

During a visit to Israel's internal security service, Shin Bet, Netanyahu said that the Israel-Iran war and ceasefire have opened many opportunities: “First of all, to rescue the hostages. Of course, we will also have to solve the Gaza issue, to defeat Hamas, but I estimate that we will achieve both tasks.”

Major sticking point for any deal

But talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over a major sticking point -- whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire agreement.

Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawi accused Netanyahu of stalling progress on a deal, saying on social media that the Israeli leader insists on a temporary agreement that would free just 10 of the hostages. About 50 hostages remain, with less than half believed to be alive.

Netanyahu spokesperson Omer Dostri said that “Hamas was the only obstacle to ending the war", without addressing Merdawi's claim.

Hamas says it is willing to free all the hostages in exchange for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and an end to the war in Gaza. Israel rejects that offer, saying it will agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, something that the group refuses.

Gaza's Health Ministry said that another 88 people had been killed by Israeli fire over the past 24 hours, raising the war's toll among Palestinians to 56,500. The ministry, which operates under the Hamas government, doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians in its count, but says more than half of the dead were women and children.