With a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas tantalizingly close, families of hostages in the Gaza Strip are afraid to get their hopes up and agonizing over the unknown. “These days are horrible for us,” Yafit Zailer said Wednesday,

In war-ravaged Gaza, thousands are still buried under rubble and dozens are missing after encounters with Israeli forces. Vast areas appear uninhabitable, and it could take decades to rebuild.

Gaza's civil defence agency said on Wednesday that Israeli strikes killed at least 27 people, as the military issued new evacuation calls in northern areas of the Palestinian territory.The latest Israeli strikes come as truce mediator Qatar said negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza were in their "final stages".

Israeli forces in their relentless strikes across Gaza enclave have martyred sixty two more Palestinians. Israeli war planes have stepped up attacks on Gaza, bombing a school-turned-shelter and several homes across the Strip. The martyrdom toll of Palestinians in Israeli genocide in Gaza has now risen to over forty six thousand and seven hundred.