CAIRO: Israel escalates operations continued their operations near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Monday, as international efforts intensified to broker a ceasefire and prevent the conflict from escalating into a broader regional confrontation involving Iran and its allies.

Israeli airstrikes on Khan Younis on Monday resulted in the deaths of at least 18 people and left several others wounded, according to Palestinian medics. Meanwhile, more families and displaced individuals fled areas under new evacuation orders.

Later, an Israeli airstrike killed five people in Gaza City’s Zeitoun suburb, while two others lost their lives in Rafah, near the Egyptian border, according to medical reports.

As the conflict continued, Hamas expressed skepticism regarding the upcoming Egyptian and Qatari-brokered talks scheduled for Thursday, citing a lack of movement from the Israeli side. The group urged mediators to push Israel to accept a ceasefire proposal based on ideas from U.S. President Joe Biden, which Hamas had already accepted, rather than pursuing further negotiations that could, in their view, allow ongoing aggression.

Two sources close to Hamas told Reuters that the group believed the new call for talks was pre-coordinated with Israel to deter potential responses from Iran and Hezbollah following the assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah figure in Lebanon.

“It is a mild rejection, you can say. Should Hamas receive a workable plan and see a positive response from Israel, things may change. But for now, Hamas believes Netanyahu isn’t serious about reaching a deal,” said a Palestinian official involved in the mediation effort.

Meanwhile, preparations for a larger-scale conflict intensified, with Washington deploying a guided missile submarine to the Middle East and accelerating the arrival of the Abraham Lincoln strike group to the region.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Iran was preparing for a large-scale military attack on Israel, according to a report by Axios journalist Barak Ravid.

Israel has been on high alert since a missile strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights killed 12 people last month, leading to Israel’s retaliatory killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

The following day, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, prompting Iran to vow retaliation against Israel.

The potential for escalation highlights the deepening turmoil in the Middle East, as the Gaza war enters its 11th month. The conflict was ignited by a Hamas-led attack on Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip on October 7, which resulted in around 1,200 deaths and over 250 hostages taken into Gaza, according to Israeli sources.

In retaliation, Israeli forces have launched extensive airstrikes on Gaza, displacing the majority of its population and killing approximately 40,000 people, as reported by the Palestinian health ministry.

On Saturday, an Israeli strike on a school building in Gaza City killed scores of people. The Israeli military claimed the strike targeted fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but both groups denied any fighters were present at the school.

Gaza health officials state that most of the fatalities in the conflict have been civilians, while Israel asserts that at least a third were fighters. Israel has reported the loss of 330 soldiers in the ongoing conflict.

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