In a brief statement late Saturday, Netanyahu said he has sent a delegation to Egypt “to finalise technical details,” adding that “our goal is to contain these negotiations to a time frame of a few days.”

But Netanyahu signalled there would not be a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, something Hamas has long demanded. “(Doubters) told me it’s too good to be true. It’s true. And with God’s help, it will happen very soon,” he said.

On Saturday, Israel’s army warned Palestinians against trying to return to Gaza City, calling it a “dangerous combat zone.”

Two residents said that since the morning, Israeli tanks and troops had not advanced but artillery shells and airstrikes were still heard.

“We can still see the quadcopters everywhere,” Mohamed al-Nashar said.

In southern Gaza, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said its Saraya field hospital received 10 bodies and over 70 injured after Israeli strikes on Saturday afternoon.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll in the war has topped 67,000. The toll jumped after the ministry said it added more than 700 names to the list whose data had been verified.

The Health Ministry does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It says women and children make up around half the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the UN and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.