Medical sources report that six individuals were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, and another six were killed in a raid in Beit Hanoon.

Medical sources informed Al Jazeera about the six deaths in Khan Younis, located in southern Gaza, and another six deaths in a raid on Beit Hanoon in the north.

Since mid-March, Israel has been pushing to take more control in Gaza, following the breakdown of a weeks-long truce in its conflict with Hamas and the resumption of its bombardment of the already devastated territory.

Israeli attacks have intensified since then, with the intention to escalate until Hamas releases Israeli captives taken during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

Israeli troops have been deployed to a newly established security corridor across southern Gaza, as announced by the military on Saturday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently introduced the new “Morag Corridor,” suggesting it would separate the southern city of Rafah, which Israel had ordered to be evacuated, from the rest of Gaza.

It was unclear how many forces were deployed or the exact location of the new corridor.

Morag is named after a former Jewish settlement situated between Rafah and Khan Younis.

Maps published by Israeli media show the corridor running east to west across the entire coastal strip.

Early Saturday, Hamas’s armed group posted a video showing two Israeli captives alive in Gaza, describing their survival of an alleged Israeli strike.

Maxim Herkin’s family, whose family recognized him as one of the captives in the video, urged the media not to publish it, according to the Israeli campaign group, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

The second captive was identified as Israeli soldier Bar Kuperstein.

The two men were taken from the Nova music festival and transported to Gaza during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which resulted in at least 1,139 deaths, according to an Al Jazeera count based on Israeli statistics.

Fifty-eight captives remain in Gaza, including 34 whom the Israeli military declares dead.

During the six-week ceasefire, which ended with Israel’s resumption of airstrikes on March 18, 33 captives were released by fighters, eight of whom were dead.

Israel’s military action in response to the October 7 attack has claimed at least 50,669 lives in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Health Ministry which the United Nations deems reliable.

The United Nations reports that at least 100 children are killed or injured daily in Gaza since the strikes resumed.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), posts on X, “Nothing justifies the killing of children.”

Trilateral meeting

As efforts to broker a truce in Gaza continue, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he will host a trilateral summit on the situation in Gaza with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

“In response to the Gaza emergency and during my visit to Egypt, invited by President al-Sisi, we will hold a trilateral summit with the Egyptian president and the King of Jordan,” Macron stated on X ahead of his trip.

Expected in Cairo on Sunday, Macron will have talks with his Egyptian counterpart on Monday morning, followed by the trilateral summit in the Egyptian capital, according to Macron’s office.

On Tuesday, Macron will visit the Egyptian port of El-Arish, which is a transit point for international aid intended for Gaza, to meet with humanitarian and security personnel and to showcase his “constant mobilization for a ceasefire”.