The deal would involve Hamas releasing 10 Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel releasing 150 Palestinian prisoners over the course of a 60-day truce.

The Israeli military said the relocation plan is necessary to protect civilians amid the ongoing two-year war, which has led to a humanitarian crisis.

Cyprus was the staging area last year for 22,000 tonnes of aid deliveries by ship directly to Gaza through a pier operated by the international charity World Central Kitchen and a US military-run docking facility known as the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore System.

In leaked audio recordings, the former head of Israeli military intelligence can be heard saying that the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza is “necessary and required for future generations.

New report accuses Israel of 'systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life'

Israelis took to the streets on Sunday to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to expand operations in the Gaza Strip rather than attempt to negotiate an end to the war under which Hamas would free its last hostages.

Palestinian residents of Gaza City have come under relentless Israeli bombardment as the military prepares for a major offensive to seize and ethnically cleanse the area, barring emergency workers from reaching people trapped in the residential Zeitoun neighbourhood.

Israel says it is preparing to mass move Palestinians from combat areas in Gaza to the south as plans of its new military offensive reach final stages of planning. View on euronews