A Hamas delegation left for Cairo to discuss "new ideas" aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza, an official from the group has said.

Talks have so far failed to produce any breakthrough since Israel resumed its air and ground assault from March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire.

The Hamas delegation, led by the group's chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya, "will meet with Egyptian officials to discuss new ideas aimed at reaching a ceasefire", said the official.

An investigation by Israel’s public broadcaster KAN has revealed that the Israeli military fabricated the discovery of a tunnel in the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, claiming the structure was, in fact, a shallow canal.

Last August, the army published photos of an alleged tunnel in the demilitarised area along the border.

"There was never a tunnel, but a canal covered in dirt," KAN said.

The purpose of this lie “was to exaggerate the importance of the Philadelphi Corridor and delay a hostage deal," it added.

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has hailed Pope Francis's support for Gaza and engagement with the small Catholic community in the war-battered Palestinian territory.

The Catholic church's highest authority in the region, who is considered a potential successor to the late pontiff, Pizzaballa told journalists in Jerusalem that "Gaza represents, a little bit, all what was the heart of his pontificate".

Pope Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, advocated peace and "closeness to the poor... and to the neglected one", said the patriarch.

An Israeli blockade on the entry of polio vaccines into Gaza leaves the lives of over 600,000 Palestinian children at risk, the Health Ministry has said.

“The blocking of the entry of vaccines is hampering efforts to implement the fourth phase of a campaign to enhance polio prevention,” the ministry said in a statement.

"More than 602,000 children face the risk of permanent paralysis and chronic disabilities unless vaccines are allowed immediately," it appealed.

The ministry said that Gaza’s children confront “unprecedented and severe health complications due to the complete absence of proper nutrition and safe drinking water."

An Israeli blockade on the entry of essentials has worsened humanitarian conditions in Gaza and is slowly killing more than two million people in the enclave, local authorities have warned.

“Around 2.4 million Palestinians are suffering from severe and catastrophic food insecurity,” Ismail Thawabteh, director of Gaza’s government media office, told Anadolu.

He said over 90 percent of Gaza’s population depends entirely on food assistance.

“Food aid is no longer arriving due to Israel’s closure of Gaza’s crossings and the prevention of the entry of aid,” he added.

At least 26 more Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll from Israel’s genocidal war since October 2023 to 51,266, the Health Ministry has said.

A ministry statement said that 60 more injured people were also transferred to hospitals, taking the number of injuries to 116,991 since the start of the Israeli onslaught.

The Israeli army shelled a municipal building and heavy machinery used to remove rubble in northern Gaza, in the latest attack on Palestinian humanitarian infrastructure in the war-torn Palestinian territory.

“Israeli warplanes bombed the Nazlat Jabalia Municipality headquarters and the equipment inside, burning everything at the site,” a municipal employee told Anadolu on condition of anonymity.

“Israel prevented ambulance and civil defence crews from reaching the site to extinguish a fire caused by the attack, forcing them to attempt to control the raging flames using primitive and manual equipment.”

The United Nations has warned that Gaza was facing deepening hunger 50 days into a total Israeli blockade on all aid entering the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

"Gaza has become a land of desperation," Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, said on X.

"Hunger is spreading and deepening, deliberate and manmade."

Lebanon's Health Ministry has said a new Israeli strike killed one person, hours after a deadly raid elsewhere in the country, despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

"The strike launched by the Israeli enemy" in south Lebanon's Tyre district "killed one person", the ministry statement said.

The Israeli military claimed that it had killed Hussein Atawi, a "key figure in the Jama'a Islamiya with ties to Hamas."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appeared once again before the Tel Aviv District Court to defend himself against corruption charges.

It marked the 24th time for Netanyahu to appear before the court since Dec. 10, 2024, according to the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

The court convenes twice a week to hear the Israeli premier’s responses to the charges brought against him.

According to a court statement, Netanyahu's hearing sessions on his corruption trial will end by May 7.