Israeli forces pushed towards the heart of Gaza City on Wednesday as pressure mounted on U.S. President Donald Trump to find a way to end nearly two years of fighting in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages held there.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said the U.S. is “hopeful … even confident that in the coming days we’ll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough” on the war in Gaza.

He said Trump’s 21-point peace plan had been presented to some leaders on Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Friday during a U.S. trip that also includes a meeting with Trump.

Urging the population to move south, Israel has meanwhile pressed on with its military campaign on Gaza City despite repeated calls for it to pull back.

Hamas’ armed wing told the Israeli military that an expansion of its operation in Gaza City would put Israeli hostages at risk, while Israel’s military called on Gazan residents to “rise up and break away from Hamas” to end the war.

MANY REMAIN IN GAZA CITY AMID SECURITY CONCERNS

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have left Gaza City in northern Gaza but many have hesitated because of security risks and widespread hunger.

“We moved to the western area near the beach, but many families didn’t have the time, tanks took them by surprise,” said Thaer, a 35-year-old father of one from Tel Al-Hawa, a suburb of Gaza City.

Israeli forces began closing in on the city of more than a million in August, with Israel saying it aimed to destroy the last stronghold of Hamas militants whose attack on Israel and seizure of hostages triggered the war nearly two years ago.

Medics said at least 50 people were killed across Gaza on Wednesday, mostly in Gaza City, where Israeli airstrikes hit a shelter housing displaced families near a market in the middle of the city. Two others were killed in a house nearby, they said.

The Israeli military said the strike had targeted two Hamas militants and that its forces tried to reduce harm to civilians.

Video obtained by Reuters showed people sifting through the rubble.

“We were sleeping in God’s care, there was nothing – they did not inform us, or not even give us a sign – it was a surprise,” said Sami Hajjaj. “There are children and women, around 200 people maybe, six to seven families — this square is full of families.”

In Tel Al-Hawa, tanks entered populated areas trapping people in their homes, while more tanks were stationed close to Al-Quds Hospital, witnesses said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said an oxygen station had been damaged.

Tanks have also advanced closer to Gaza’s largest hospital, Al Shifa, witnesses and Hamas media said. The Israeli military said the group’s militants had opened fire from within the hospital compound, which Hamas denied.

“We fear these lies may be a prelude to another raid on the hospital,” said Ismail Al-Thawabta, the director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, in reference to several previous raids by Israeli forces.

Israel’s military released grainy aerial footage, which appeared to show gunfire coming from two windows. The military did not immediately respond to Reuters queries about how it established it was Hamas militants who had opened fire and at whom.

A Hamas security official said “criminal gangs” had opened fire at the hospital from outside the complex.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the conflicting accounts.

Separately, two Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank over the past 24 hours, one during a raid by Israeli troops in Anza village outside Jenin, and another was shot in al-Mughayyir village, northeast of Ramallah, by an Israeli settler, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Violence in the West Bank has become more intense during the Gaza war, as Israel has stepped up raids across the territory. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the incidents.

INTERNATIONAL FRUSTRATION OVER THE WAR

In southern Gaza, at least 13 people were killed in Nuseirat and near Rafah, medics said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which says its attacks are aimed at ending Hamas rule of the enclave.

Israel has drawn widespread condemnation over its military conduct in Gaza, where more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health authorities, and famine has spread.

International frustration over the war prompted some Israeli and U.S. allies to recognize a Palestinian state this week. Support for the war in Israel has also wavered, with 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, still held by Hamas in Gaza and 465 soldiers killed in combat.

Hamas has acknowledged the death of some of its military leaders but has not disclosed the number of its fighters killed.

The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.