The leaders of Egypt, France and Jordan have warned Israel an offensive against Gaza’s southern city of Rafah would have “dangerous consequences”.
They jointly said that it would “only bring more death and suffering” and “threaten regional escalation”.
The US also said it opposed any assault on Rafah, where more than 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said a date for the offensive had now been set but provided no details.
“Today I received a detailed report on the talks in Cairo, we are constantly working to achieve our goals, first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas,” he said on Monday.
“This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen – there is a date.”
At the same time, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant suggested that now was the right time for a deal over hostages, six months into the war with Hamas.
His comments came as talks on a hostage-prisoner swap and ceasefire continued in Egypt’s capital Cairo.
The CIA Director, William Burns, is also attending the discussions. His presence underlines the growing pressure from the US – Israel’s main ally – for an agreement.
A senior Hamas official told Reuters news agency Israeli proposals had not met Hamas’s demands but the group said they would nevertheless be examined.
“There is no change in the position of the occupation [Israel] and therefore, there is nothing new in the Cairo talks,” the Hamas official, who asked not to be identified, said. “There is no progress yet.”
In a separate development on Monday, Israel reported a “record-breaking influx of aid trucks into Gaza, totalling 419”.
Source BBC News
