Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, left on podium, and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, center on podium, attend a press conference during their visit to Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mayar Mokhtar)2025-08-18T12:36:40Z RAFAH, Egypt (AP) Egyptian and Qatari mediators were holding talks with Hamas in their latest effort to broker a ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip, where health authorities said Monday that the Palestinian death toll from 22 months of war has passed 62,000.U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to cast doubt on such talks. We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be, he posted on his Truth Social site on Monday.Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavy populated areas after the ceasefire talks appeared to have broken down last month, raising the possibility of a worsening of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which experts say is sliding into famine.Those plans, which may in part be aimed at pressuring Hamas, have sparked international outrage and infuriated many Israelis who fear for the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack that started the war. Hundreds of thousands took part in mass protests on Sunday calling for their return. Extensive efforts to revive talksEgyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said mediators are exerting extensive efforts to revive a U.S. proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, during which hostages would be released and the sides would negotiate a lasting ceasefire.He spoke during a visit to Egypts Rafah crossing with Gaza, which has not functioned since Israel seized the Palestinian side in May 2024. He was accompanied by Mohammad Mustafa, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, which has been largely sidelined since the war began.Abdelatty reiterated Egypts strong oppositon to any plans for the mass relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, as called for by Israeli leaders who portray it as voluntary emigration. The Palestinians and much of the international community say such plans would amount to forcible expulsion because Israels air and ground war has left much of Gaza uninhabitable. Abdelatty said Egypt wont take part, and wont allow any such plans, and called on other countries that have been in talks with Israel about resettling Palestinians not to be involved in this heinous crime. Egypt and others fear the mass relocation of Palestinians could spell the end of their decades-long quest for an independent state.Abdelatty said Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya joined the talks in Cairo along with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. He said they are open to other ideas, including for a comprehensive deal that would release all the hostages at once.An official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks, said that Israel currently does not have plans to send representatives to the negotiations in Cairo, but is waiting to see how they develop.Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, in the attack that ignited the war. Fifty hostages are still inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Palestinian death toll surpasses 62,000The Gaza Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war had climbed to 62,004, with another 156,230 people wounded. It does not say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the dead.The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties. Israel disputes its toll but has not provided its own. The ministry said 1,965 people have been killed while seeking humanitarian aid since May, either in the chaos around U.N. convoys or while heading to sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed American contractor.Witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds of people seeking aid. Israel says it has only fired warning shots at people who approached its forces. GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired into the air on rare occasions to prevent deadly crowding. More deaths linked to malnutritionExperts have warned that Israels ongoing offensive is pushing Gaza toward famine, even after it eased a complete 2 1/2-month blockade on the territory in May. The Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that five more people, including two children, died of malnutrition-related causes.It says at least 112 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began, and 151 adults have died since the ministry started tracking adult malnutrition deaths in June.Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation.Israel has rejected such allegations, saying it allows in enough food and accusing the U.N. of failing to promptly deliver it. U.N. agencies say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of law and order in the territory, around three-quarters of which is now controlled by Israel. Israeli lawmaker denied visa to AustraliaIn a separate development, far-right Israeli lawmaker Simcha Rothman accused Australia of antisemitism after it denied him a visa for a speaking tour. Rothman is a member of the Religious Zionism party, which supports the continuation of the war, the mass relocation of Palestinians through what it describes as voluntary migration and the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza.The Australian governments decision to deny me the opportunity to come and speak to my people, due to expressing simple and clear positions, is clear and blatant antisemitism that gives a boost to terrorism, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Rothman saying on Monday.Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke defended the move, saying: If you are coming to Australia to spread a message of hate and division, we dont want you here.In response, Israel revoked the visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority and told the Israeli Embassy in Australia to carefully examine any official visa applications from Australia to Israel, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote on X.Australia joined 27 other Western-allied nations in a joint statement last month calling for an end to the war and joined a smaller circle of countries in sanctioning two far-right Israeli government ministers accused of inciting violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. ___Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk contributed from Canberra, Australia.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war SAMY MAGDY Magdy is a Middle East reporter for The Associated Press, based in Cairo. He focuses on conflict, migration and human rights abuses. twitter facebook mailto MELANIE LIDMAN Lidman is an Associated Press reporter based in Tel Aviv, Israel. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site