'Exhausted' Palestinians call for ceasefire as Israel's war continues

After nearly three months of deadly strikes, incessant displacements and sputtering humanitarian aid, exhausted Gazans say they are desperate for an end to the fighting as Israel's war on the besieged enclave looks set to grind on into the new year.

The Israeli army kept up its campaign across the length of the Palestinian territory on Friday in the face of mounting international pushback, with UN chief Antonio Guterres reiterating his call for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" and South Africa initiating a case against Israel in international court.

The UN says more than 85 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million people have fled their homes, with many now going hungry and braving the winter rains in makeshift tents.

The World Health Organization, meanwhile, warned of the growing threat of infectious diseases as fighting displaces more and more Gazans, forcing them ever further south towards the already-overcrowded city of Rafah.

"Enough with this war! We are totally exhausted. We are constantly displaced from one place to another in cold weather," said 49-year-old Um Louay Abu Khater from a camp in the southern border city.

"The bombs keep falling on us every day and night. We expect missiles (at any moment), while others are preparing for New Year's Eve celebrations."

Aid convoy under Israeli attack: UNRWA

Israel imposed a total blockade on the already besieged Gaza after October 7, cutting off water, electricity, food and medical supplies and allowing minimal aid convoys into the enclave.

The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees said Friday that one such convoy had come under fire from Israeli forces the day before without causing any casualties.

Ahmed al Baz, 33, said the year drawing to a close had been "the worst in my life".

"It was a year of destruction and devastation," he said. "We went through hell and encountered death itself. We just want the war to end and start the new year at our homes, with a ceasefire declared," he added.

Israel's relentless strikes, including the use of internationally prohibited mass weapons, since then have killed at least 21,507 people, mostly women and children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.

Negotiations in Cairo

A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Friday to discuss an Egyptian plan proposing renewable ceasefires, a staggered release of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and ultimately an end to the war, sources close to Hamas say.

Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, a Hamas official said the delegation would give "observations" on the proposal and seek "guarantees for a complete Israeli military withdrawal" from Gaza.

Israel has yet to formally comment on the Cairo plan, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told families of hostages on Thursday that "we are in contact" with the Egyptian mediators and promised the captives that "we are working to bring them all back".

The US news outlet Axios and the Israeli outlet Ynet, both citing unnamed Israeli officials, reported that Qatari mediators had told Israel that Hamas was prepared to resume talks on new hostage releases in exchange for a ceasefire.