Gaza health officials and the ambulance service say at least 25 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes and gunshots overnight as ceasefire talks appear to have stalled and Palestinians in Gaza are facing famine.

Hamas said on Thursday that it had responded to an Israeli proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, as pressure mounted for a breakthrough to end almost two years of devastating conflict that has triggered a humanitarian crisis.

Ten Palestinians died due to famine and malnutrition over the past 24 hours, according to a statement from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health on Wednesday. More than 70 children have died from malnutrition in Gaza since the beginning of the year, according to the WHO.

Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of Popular Forces, a militia group in Gaza, claimed to have “secured” several kilometers of land in the Strip and is now governing that space, in an opinion article published by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that France would become the first Western member of the United Nations Security Council to recognise a Palestinian state in September has caused diplomatic ructions from the Middle East through Europe to Washington.

An internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the U.

The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet with Israeli and Qatari officials as the Trump administration works to secure a deal to end the war in Gaza.