Israel is continuing its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah after its war cabinet decided to keep negotiating with Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
Israel continued its attacks on Rafah on Thursday, saying its troops are making every effort to prevent harm to civilians.
The Israeli military also said its troops located and dismantled a number of Hamas tunnels, and killed several fighters.
Media outlets in Israel quoted sources as saying that the country's war cabinet met on Wednesday and instructed Israeli negotiators to continue talks aimed at securing a hostage-release deal with Hamas.
The sources added that "members of the war cabinet made decisions designed to give negotiators greater room for maneuver."
Media reports in Qatar say that "officials in Cairo have begun a series of contacts with active parties to resume the negotiation process."
Hamas has demanded a complete ceasefire, saying its members would not take part in the negotiations under military pressure.
The humanitarian situation in Rafah has worsened since Israel closed the Rafah crossing.
The World Food Programme said on Wednesday that in the past two weeks, the lowest amount of humanitarian goods had entered Gaza since December. The UN agency added that "humanitarian operations in Gaza are near collapse."