Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would "allow" Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip, as the military prepares a broader offensive in the territory.
Past calls to resettle Gazans outside of the war-battered territory, including from United States President Donald Trump, have sparked concern among Palestinians and condemnation from the international community.
Netanyahu defended his war policies in an interview with Israeli media, broadcast shortly after Egypt said Gaza mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce.
"We are not pushing them out, but we are allowing them to leave," Netanyahu told Israeli broadcaster i24NEWS.
"Give them the opportunity to leave, first of all, combat zones, and generally to leave the territory, if they want."
In the Gaza Strip, Israel has for years tightly controlled the borders and barred many from leaving.
"We will allow this, first of all within Gaza during the fighting, and we will certainly allow them to leave Gaza as well," Netanyahu said.
For Palestinians, any effort to force them off their land would recall the "Nakba", or catastrophe — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel's creation in 1948.
Netanyahu has endorsed Trump's suggestion earlier this year to expel Gaza's more than two million people to Egypt and Jordan, while far-right Israeli ministers have called for their "voluntary" departure.
Cairo ceasefire talks
Israel's plans to expand its offensive into Gaza City come as diplomacy aimed at securing an elusive ceasefire and hostage release deal in the 22-month-old war has stalled for weeks, after the latest round of negotiations broke down in July.
Egypt's foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, announced Egypt was "working very hard now in full cooperation with the Qataris and Americans", aiming for "a ceasefire for 60 days, with the release of some hostages and some Palestinian detainees, and the flow of humanitarian and medical assistance to Gaza without restrictions, without conditions".
Two Palestinian sources told the Agence France-Presse news agency that a senior Hamas delegation was due to meet Egyptian officials for talks on Wednesday.
One of the Palestinian sources earlier said the mediators were working "to formulate a new comprehensive ceasefire agreement proposal "that would include the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza in one batch".
Mediation efforts led by Qatar, Egypt and the US have failed to secure a breakthrough since a short-lived truce earlier this year.
Intensified strikes
News of the potential truce talks came as Gaza's civil defence agency said Israel has intensified its airstrikes on Gaza City in recent days, following the security cabinet's decision to expand the war there.
Netanyahu's government has not provided an exact timetable on when forces may enter Gaza City, but civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said on Tuesday air raids had already started increasing over the past three days.
"The bombardment has been extremely intense for the past two days. With every strike, the ground shakes," said Majed al-Hosary, a resident of Gaza City's Zeitun neighbourhood.
An Israeli airstrike on Sunday killed five Al Jazeera employees and a freelance reporter outside a Gaza City hospital.
Gaza's civil defence agency says Israel has increased its bombardment of Gaza City in recent days. Source: AP / Jehad Alshrafi
The October 7 attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Netanyahu is under mounting domestic pressure to secure the release of the remaining hostages — 49 people, including 27, the Israeli military says, are dead — as well as over his plans to expand the war.
