Hamas' meetings with Egyptian officials will focus on ways to stop the war, deliver aid, and "end the suffering of our people in Gaza," Hamas official Taher al-Nono said in a statement.

Israel's war cabinet voted on Monday to occupy Gaza City, a move condemned at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council later that day. On Tuesday the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was "at the beginning of a new state of combat".

Militant group Hamas' chief negotiator held talks with Egyptian mediators over a potential ceasefire in the Gaza war on Wednesday while Israel struck the territory's main city prior to a planned takeover and again invited Palestinians to leave.