Tens of thousands of people have gathered in central Israel for the funeral of an Israeli soldier whose body was held hostage in Gaza for 11 years.

Israel called on civilians to leave Gaza City, an announcement that affects about 1.1 million people or roughly half the population of the whole Gaza Strip. They were told that for their own safety they should head south of Wadi Gaza, a seasonal river, as Israel massed tanks on the border ahead of an anticipated ground invasion.

The next stage of the peace plan has proven problematic, as Hamas has so far refused to give up its weapons and control over Gaza.

The talk — billed as a dialogue of issues facing Israel and Palestine after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire — was hosted by the Western Massachusetts chapter of Friends of Standing Together, a group dedicated to peace and equality for all people in Palestine and Israel.

UNICEF said on Tuesday essential items including syringes to vaccinate children and bottles for baby formula are being denied entry into Gaza by Israel, preventing aid agencies from reaching those in need in the war-devastated territory.

A senior US official tells the Axios news site that a report in the Saudi al-Hadath network claiming that Yasser Abu Shabab, who heads an anti-Hamas militia in Gaza, recently held a secret meeting with US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner at the US-led Gaza ceasefire monitoring hub in Kiryat Gat is “fake news.”

Kushner arrived in Israel on Sunday for talks with Netanyahu regarding the Gaza war, and envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to arrive and join the talks as well. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the special envoy and son-in-law of US President Donald Trump,