Hamas says new Gaza talks have begun, hours after Israel launched major offensive

Hamas says its negotiators have opened a new round of talks aimed at ending the war, and all issues are on the table.

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Taher al-Nounou, an adviser to the head of Hamas, told the BBC a new round of negotiations had officially begun in Doha on Saturday. There were no preconditions from either side, and all issues were on the table for discussion.

Israel Katz, the Israeli defence minister, said Hamas negotiators were returning to indirect talks in Qatar to seek a deal on the hostages.

Katz called the move a "departure from the recalcitrant position they had taken up until that moment".

It came after Israel's military said on its Hebrew X account that troops had been mobilised for "Operation Gideon's Chariots" to seize "strategic areas" of Gaza and free hostages.