Qatar: 'Efforts ongoing' for Gaza ceasefire

Mediator Qatar on Tuesday said it was still pursuing efforts for a Gaza ceasefire, even after Israel approved expanded operations and Hamas said it wasn't interested in further talks.

Qatar remains in "continuous" contact with all parties, foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said, despite major obstacles to a new accord.

"Our efforts remain ongoing despite the difficulty of the situation and the continuing catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip," Ansari told reporters at a briefing.

"There are continuous contacts between Qatar and the concerned parties," he added.

On Monday, Israel said its security cabinet approved the military's plan for expanded operations, which one official said would entail "the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories".

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told AFP the group was no longer interested in truce talks and urged the international community to halt Israel's "hunger war" against Gaza.

A senior Israeli security official said Israel would "allow a window" for a hostage deal during US President Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East next week.

"The deployment of forces prior to the start of the manoeuvre will allow a window of opportunity until the end of the US president's visit to the region to carry out a hostage deal," the Israeli official said.

Gaza has been under total Israeli blockade since March 2 and faces a severe humanitarian crisis.

Israel's military resumed its offensive on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month truce.

Ansari said talks were focused on getting aid into Gaza and "the necessity to stop weaponising aid, which Israel has been doing... since the first day of this war".

"Aid should not be used as a weapon or a bargaining chip," he said.

The United Nations and aid organisations have repeatedly warned of the humanitarian catastrophe on the ground, with famine again looming under the Israeli blockade.