Tel Aviv/Washington, 27 August 2024 (dpa/MIA) — Talks on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip are continuing at the working-group level in Cairo, despite Israel and Hezbollah's heavy exchange of fire, a senior US official said on Monday.

"There continues to be progress, and our team on the ground continues to describe the talks as constructive," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.

Kirby said Brett McGurk, US President Joe Biden's top Middle East advisor, stayed on in the Egyptian capital for another day to help "kick off" the lower-level consultations.

"All parties will be represented, including Hamas, in those working group discussions, and as for how long they'll take, I think that remains to be seen," Kirby said.

He said there was "no truth at all" to suggestions that the on-again off-again ceasefire and hostage negotiations, which have been going on for months, had broken down.

The talks were also "not affected" by the major eruption of violence between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon at the weekend, Kirby said.

The latest round of talks in Cairo by senior officials representing the sides failed to achieve a breakthrough and ended on Sunday.

The 13-strong Israeli delegation has left Egypt, as has Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the Hamas representatives who had travelled from Doha to be briefed on the progress of the talks.

As Hamas and Israel are not negotiating directly with each other, the US, Qatar and Egypt are acting as mediators.

Dpa sources report that the question of whether Israeli troops may remain stationed along the Gaza-Egypt border in the event of a ceasefire remains a point of contention.

Residents of Gaza's Deir al-Balah flee fresh evacuation order

Thousands of residents of the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah are fleeing the area following a new Israeli evacuation order.

Reports from Gaza suggest the order included the Al-Aqsa Hospital, one of the few health facilities still functioning in the territory.

Israel's evacuation notice said on Sunday that its military would "take strong action against Hamas and terrorist organizations" in the area, which it labelled a "dangerous combat zone."

The military said Israeli troops had "eliminated dozens of terrorists and found large quantities of weapons" in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

In response, the UN's Palestinian agency - the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) - said only three of 18 wells are still functioning in Deir al-Balah, causing serious water shortages.

"Not only are people in [Gaza] in constant fear for their lives, but they struggle to meet even their most basic needs," the agency said on the social media platform X, calling again for an immediate ceasefire.

The conflict in Gaza was triggered by the unprecedented October 7 attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel. More than 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 hostages were taken to Gaza.

According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, at least 40,435 people have been killed and more than 93,500 injured in the subsequent Israeli offensive in Gaza.

Israeli police minister provokes with new comments on religious site

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has made provocative statements regarding a contested Jerusalem religious site, asserting that Jews are allowed to pray there, in an interview on Monday with the Israeli army radio station.

The far-right minister's statement contradicts the declared policy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to a longstanding agreement with Muslim authorities, Jews are allowed to visit the site known to them as the Temple Mount but to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary but not to pray there. However, there are repeated violations of this agreement.

Netanyahu's office reaffirmed that the status quo of the site remains unchanged.

The site houses the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque and is the third holiest site in Islam. It is also sacred to Jews because two Jewish temples once stood there.

The site in the Old City of Jerusalem is under Muslim administration while Israel is responsible for security.

Ben-Gvir described the government's current policy as a "submission" to the Palestinian Islamist terrorist organization Hamas and the Muslim authorities at the site. He stated that Arabs are allowed to pray everywhere and therefore Jews should not be prevented to either. He said he was against "racism and discrimination."

Ben-Gvir also told the radio station that if he had his way, the Israeli flag would have been flying on the Temple Mount long ago. When asked if he would build a synagogue there, he answered, "Yes."

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant criticized Ben-Gvir's behaviour, stating that tampering with the status quo at the religious site is a dangerous, unnecessary and irresponsible act. Gallant added that Ben-Gvir's actions endanger the national security of the state of Israel and its international status.