Palestinians watch from a makeshift displacement camp as Israeli shelling hits Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip© Bashar TALEB
Top US diplomat Antony Blinken headed to Israel on Sunday seeking a Gaza ceasefire deal that could help avert a wider war, while a senior Hamas official dismissed "American diktats" in negotiations.
Making his ninth trip to the Middle East since the Gaza war began with Palestinian militants' October 7 attack, the secretary of state is due to meet Israeli leaders before truce talks resume in Cairo.
US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have reported progress in negotiations to clinch a ceasefire in the more than 10-month-old war, and a US official said remaining gaps were "bridgeable".
But Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP that optimism a deal was close after two days of talks in Doha was "an illusion".
"We are not facing a deal or real negotiations, but rather the imposing of American diktats," he said.