At least 34 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza on Saturday, according to local health officials, as Qatar expressed optimism about renewed efforts to secure a cease-fire in the besieged territory.
The health officials said that an Israeli strike hit a house in Gaza City late on Saturday, killing four women. The Israeli military did not provide an immediate comment on Saturday's strikes across Gaza.
The death toll was revised upwards from 30 reported earlier in the day by the Palestinian Health Ministry, which also said dozens were wounded.
Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Qatar was engaging with the incoming Trump administration on Gaza after sensing fresh momentum for cease-fire talks following the U.S. election.
Donald Trump's Middle East envoy has traveled to Qatar and Israel to kick-start the U.S. President-elect's diplomatic push for a cease-fire and hostage release deal before his inauguration on Jan. 20, a source briefed on the talks told Reuters on Thursday.
Hamas said on Saturday a cease-fire agreement could only be reached if it secured an end to the war in Gaza, reaffirming its outstanding position. Israel says the war can only end once Hamas is eradicated.
"Stopping the war and aggression is the condition for any agreement," said a Hamas statement, quoting a top official of the group, Mohammad Darwish.
Hamas has not appointed a new leader after Israel killed the group's chief, Yahya Sinwar, in Gaza on Oct. 17, but the statement described Darwish as the head of the leading council.
Darwish met with Türkiye's foreign minister on Friday and Iran's foreign minister on Saturday to discuss the developments in Gaza and the region, the statement said.
Both meetings were held in Doha, Qatar, where officials announced earlier Saturday that they were trying to revive the cease-fire talks.
"He (Darwish) explained that Hamas was open to offers by the mediators as long as they served the interest of our people and ending their suffering," the statement said.
Israeli genocide in Gaza has killed more than 44,000 Palestinians.
The war was triggered by the Hamas incursion of southern Israel on Oct.7, 2023, causing 1,200 deaths and taking more than 250 hostages back to Gaza.
In the occupied West Bank on Saturday, a Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces at a checkpoint, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
