Israel and Hamas may be able to reach a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal within one or two weeks but such an agreement is not likely to be secured in just a day's time, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday.

At a top-level Israeli government briefing, it was said no permanent ceasefire is possible without the complete removal of Hamas.

Israel's defense minister has outlined plans to pack hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into a closed zone of the Gaza Strip along the border with Egypt, according to local media reports. It appears to be the latest version of plans by the Israeli government to maintain lasting control over the territory and relocate much of

Video captured by an NBC News crew in Gaza shows mourners gathering at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City after a mother, father their and 5-month-old daughter were killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit their apartment.

Israel’s defense minister said he told the military to advance plans for what he called a “humanitarian city” built on the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza, according to reports in Israeli media.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Shifa Hospital was once the cornerstone of the health system in the Gaza Strip. Now, after 21 months of war and two major Israeli raids, it barely functions.

Dr. Victoria Rose spent 21 days in the territory in May, treating people who were shot trying to get food and children with life-changing injuries from Israeli bombs.

Thirteen women and two men who survived captivity by Hamas said they experienced or witnessed sexual violence while held hostage in Gaza, according to a new report by a group of Israeli researchers known as the Dinah Project.