Israeli soldiers take part in military and aerial supply exercises near the town of Katzrin in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights. Israel bombarded Rafah on 7 May and the military said ground troops conducted "targeted raids" in the southern Gazan city, as negotiations to halt the seven-month war resumed in Cairo. The war was sparked by Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Israel in response vowed to crush Hamas and launched a military offensive that has killed at least 34,844 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.