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Israel is preparing to move the civilian population of Rafah in Gaza ahead of a planned ground operation into the Palestinian enclave, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.The premier "approved the operation plans" following a war cabinet meeting where a ceasefire deal submitted by Palestinian militant group Hamas was discussed, according to a statement.Israel Defence Forces are "preparing for the operational aspects and for the evacuation of the population," it said, without indicating a time frame. The move is likely to increase tensions between Israel and the US President Joe Biden said last week that an invasion of Rafah would represent a "red line."Israel said on Friday it would send a delegation to Qatar for fresh talks on a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza, keeping faint hopes for a truce alive despite rejecting a long-awaited counter-offer from Hamas.Negotiators failed this week to reach a ceasefire agreement for the Gaza war in time for the Ramadan Muslim holy month. But Washington and Arab mediators are still determined to reach a deal to head off an Israeli assault on Rafah and let in humanitarian aid to stave off mass starvation.Palestinians shot own peopleMore than two weeks after receiving an Israeli-approved proposal for a truce, Hamas gave mediators on Thursday its first formal counter-proposal in more than a month. Like previous proposals from both sides, the offer foresees dozens of Israeli hostages being freed in return for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails, during a weeks-long ceasefire that would let in aid.It also calls for talks in a later stage on ending the war, seen as anathema to Israel which says it will negotiate only over a temporary truce.Meanwhile, the Israeli army said Friday that "armed Palestinians" opened fire on civilians awaiting humanitarian aid in northern Gaza, rejecting claims by the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry that Israeli soldiers were responsible. "Armed Palestinians opened fire while Gazan civilians were awaiting the arrival of the aid convoy" in Gaza City on Thursday and then "continued to shoot as the crowd of Gazans began looting the trucks", the army said in a statement.

Civil Aviation regulator DGCA has refused to extend the deadline for new pilot duty hours from 1 June. The regulator has asked airlines to prepare for implementing the new norms and get their new pilot flight duty timings approved by 15 April.Airline executives said that as a result of this they will have to cancel up to 20% flights leading to higher ticket prices during summer travel season. Fares are already higher according to online travel portals as almost 20% of the fleet of Indian airlines are grounded due to engine issues and financial crunch.Among the primary changes, the new rules rewrites the definition of night period extending it by an hour from 12 AM-5 AM to 12 AM- 6AM and also limits the duty period and to 10 hours. It also caps the number of landings a pilot can do to two. DGCA has also cut down the period for which airlines can exceed the limit during unforeseen circumstances, such as bad weather or air-traffic delays from three to two hours.“The provisions may seem restrictive or liberal depending on if it is being viewed by airlines or pilots. While perceptions may vary, DGCA is concerned about ensuring safe operation,” the regulator said in a letter to airlines which was reviewed by ET.The Federation of Indian airlines, which includes IndiGo and Air India, has said that the rules are more restrictive than anywhere in the world and will make the Indian aviation industry less competitive than other countries.They had said that the new rules will require them to increase the number of pilots by 25% and hiring and training them will not be possible by 1 June forcing them to cancel up to 20 % of flights.DGCA said that multiple incidents of death of pilots due to punishing schedules and its adverse impact on the health of pilots is an urgent wake up call to address these issues without further delay.A senior DGCA official said that it will be wrong to compare these rules with that of other countries as each country’s operating environment was unique. “ For instance, the reason why European regulator EASA doesn't have a rule limiting night operations is because airports in those countries have restrictions on flights at night to curb noise pollution which is not the case in India,” a senior DGCA official said.The regulator’s action of amending the duty hours came after complaints from a large number of pilots that they are being stretched by the airlines using the regulator’s soft rules which ensures they are not violating the norms. Last year, an IndiGo pilot died due to a sudden cardiac arrest at the Nagpur airport minutes before operating the flight.