The authorities in Israel say they have been briefed on talks over a ceasefire deal in Gaza, after reports of progress made in talks in Paris on Saturday.
It comes as police broke up protests in Tel Aviv calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign.
The Paris talks are part of negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire and the return of hostages.
The deal would also see the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
On Saturday evening, the Israeli war cabinet was briefed on negotiations in Paris with mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US.
Anti-government demonstrations were relatively frequent in Israel before the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October – the demonstrators’ loathing for Mr Netanyahu and his hardline cabinet goes back more than a year.
But Saturday’s unrest was the first time since October that police have resorted to tougher measures.
The demonstrators have been spurred on by the war in Gaza – and the fear their government is more interested in defeating Hamas than freeing hostages.
Earlier on Saturday, Israeli media reported progress had been made at talks in Paris on a hostage and ceasefire deal.
Israel’s spy chief, David Barnea, met mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US on Saturday in the French capital.
They reportedly agreed the outline of a deal to form the basis for further negotiations, which was then presented to the Israeli war cabinet on Saturday night.
Israeli media report that the war cabinet agreed to send a delegation to Qatar, where they will continue negotiations on a deal which would see a weeks-long truce and the release of hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Meanwhile fighting and air strikes continue to claim lives in Gaza.
In his post on X, Mr Netanyahu said he would convene his cabinet this week to approve plans for an operation in Rafah in Gaza’s far south, where around 1.2-1.5 million people are crammed into any available space.
Increased Israeli air strikes there are already making aid operations more difficult.
Aid agencies and many Western governments have warned that the consequences of an assault on Rafah could be dire.
UNRWA – the UN agency for assisting Palestinian refugees – says it has paused aid deliveries to northern Gaza because convoys are being looted by desperate residents. One of its trucks was also hit by Israeli gunfire on 5 February.
The Hamas-run health ministry says at least 29,600 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, and thousands more bodies are likely unaccounted for under rubble across Gaza.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the 7 October attacks on southern Israeli communities near the border with Gaza, in which around 1,200 Israelis, mainly civilians, were killed and about 250 others taken hostage to Gaza.
