Israeli forces shell Gaza on war anniversary, Hamas and Israel discuss Trump plan

Israeli tanks pounded parts of Gaza on Tuesday, giving Palestinians no respite on the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attack, and underlining the challenges at talks on US President Donald Trump's plan to halt the conflict.

Israel pressed on with its offensive, residents said, after Hamas and Israel began indirect negotiations on Monday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on sensitive issues such as Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas' disarmament.

The talks on the US president's plan are widely seen as the most promising yet for ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated Gaza since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which killed 1,200 people.

Residents in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and Gaza City in the north reported heavy bombing from tanks and planes in the early hours on Tuesday, witnesses said. Israeli forces pounded several districts from the air, sea and ground, they said.

Fighters in Gaza fired rockets across the border early on Tuesday, setting off air raid sirens at Israeli kibbutz Netiv Haasara, and Israeli troops continued to tackle gunmen inside the enclave, the Israeli military said.

Marking the anniversary of the attack, an umbrella of Palestinian factions including Hamas, and smaller groups vowed "the choice of resistance by all means is the sole and only way to confront the... enemy".

"No one has the right to cede the weapons of the Palestinian people. This legitimate weapon... will be passed through the Palestinian generations until their land and sacred sites are liberated," the statement issued in the name of "Factions of the Palestinian Resistance" said.

Israelis marking the second anniversary of the Hamas attack - in which 251 people were taken back to Gaza as hostages - gathered at some of the worst-hit sites of that day and at Tel Aviv's so-called Hostages Square.

In Gaza, Mohammed Dib, 49, voiced hopes of an end to the conflict. "It's been two years that we are living in fear, horror, displacement and destruction," he said. "We are hoping, with these new negotiations, to reach a ceasefire and a final end to the war."

TRUMP SEEKS MAJOR FOREIGN POLICY TRIUMPH

Trump has invested significant political capital in efforts to end the war. Even if a deal is clinched during talks in Egypt, major questions will linger, including who will rule Gaza and rebuild it.

Though Trump says he wants a deal quickly, an official briefed on the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he expected the round of talks that started on Monday would require at least a few days.

An official involved in ceasefire planning and a Palestinian source said Trump's 72-hour deadline for the hostages' return could be unachievable for dead hostages. Their remains may need to be located and recovered from scattered sites.

The Israeli delegation includes officials from spy agencies Mossad and Shin Bet, Netanyahu's foreign policy adviser Ophir Falk and hostages coordinator Gal Hirsch. Israel's chief negotiator, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, was expected to join later this week, pending developments in the negotiations, according to three Israeli officials.

The Hamas delegation is led by the group's exiled Gaza leader, Khalil Al-Hayya, who survived an Israeli airstrike in the Qatari capital, a month ago.

The US has sent special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law who has strong ties to the Middle East, the White House said.