Israeli airstrike kills two in southern Gaza amid push for ceasefire extension

Cairo: An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, medical sources said, as mediators pushed ahead with talks to extend a shaky 42-day ceasefire agreed in January between Israel and Hamas.

The Israeli military said its aircraft struck a drone that crossed from Israel into southern Gaza and "several suspects" who tried to collect it in what appeared to be a botched smuggling attempt.

The strike comes one day after an Israeli drone strike killed two people in Gaza on Friday. The Israeli military said it attacked a group of suspected militants operating near its troops in northern Gaza and planting an explosive device in the ground.

The fresh attacks come as a delegation from Hamas engages in ceasefire talks in Cairo with Egyptian mediators who have been helping facilitate the talks along with officials from Qatar, aiming to proceed to the next stage of the deal, which could open the way to ending the war.