US envoys in Israel to discuss future of Gaza, sources tell Reuters

By Emily Rose and Nidal ⁠al-Mughrabi

JERUSALEM, Jan 24 (Reuters) - ⁠U.S. envoys ‍Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Israel on Saturday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, two ‍people briefed on the matter said, as local authorities reported further violence ​in the enclave.

The U.S. on Thursday announced plans for a "New Gaza" rebuilt from scratch, to include residential ​towers, data centres and seaside resorts.

The project forms part of President Donald Trump's push to advance an October ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas that has been shaken by repeated violations.

LOCAL ​AUTHORITIES REPORT MORE DEATHS

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said on Saturday that Israeli fire had killed three people, including two children, in two separate incidents in ​the northern Gaza Strip.

A statement from the Israeli military said that its troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip ‌identified several militants "who crossed the Yellow Line, planted an explosive device in the area, and approached the troops, posing an immediate threat to ​them."

Under the ceasefire accord, Israeli troops were to ⁠retreat to a yellow line marked on military maps that runs nearly the full length of Gaza.

A source in the Israeli military ‌told Reuters that the military was aware of only one incident on Saturday and that those involved were not children. ​

Since the beginning of the war, the death toll in Gaza now stands ‌at 71,654 people, with 481 deaths since the October ceasefire, according to the Health Ministry data.

A spokesperson ‌for the Israeli prime minister's office confirmed that the meeting was planned but did not provide further details.

Gaza has been reduced to rubble in the war that was triggered by an attack by ‍Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.

Earlier this month, Washington announced that ⁠the plan had now moved into the second phase, under which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further from Gaza, and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory's administration.

(Reporting by Emily Rose in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Jan Harvey and Sharon Singleton)

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