The Israeli military says it has concluded its search of underground facilities used by Hamas in northern Gaza and will now focus on operations in southern Gaza.

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Wednesday that its forces had found a network of underground infrastructure used by Hamas leaders.

He said the search uncovered weapons and intelligence material which have been reflected in the Israeli forces' ground operations.

Hagari said, "This concludes our exposure of Hamas' underground terrorist city in the northern Gaza Strip. We will neutralize it, and destroy all its infrastructures at their strategic locations."
Hagari added, "We will also continue this operation in the southern Strip."

Aljazeera, the Qatar-based satellite TV network, on Wednesday quoted Palestinian officials as saying that the number of people killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israeli military operation has topped 20,000.

Also on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal quoted Egyptian officials in reporting that Hamas rejected an Israeli offer to stop fighting for one week in exchange for dozens of hostages.

Asked by reporters about the prospect of a new hostage deal, US President Joe Biden indicated that negotiations are still ongoing. He said, "There's no expectation at this point but we're pushing it."