Heavy Israeli bombardment of Gaza overnight killed at least 125 people, the health ministry in the territory said, against the backdrop of talks in Cairo aimed at reaching a truce, AFP reports.

As the fighting raged, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said Israeli forces had issued fresh evacuation orders for a section of Khan Younis housing an estimated half a million residents and displaced people.

The orders came as the World Food Programme warned Gazans were facing “catastrophic food insecurity”, and as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took Israel to task over its rejection of a two-state solution.