Israel hits refugee camps in Gaza as mediators press for truce

Fresh strikes were reported in Gaza's refugee camps overnight into Monday, as mediators urged Israel and Hamas to agree to a truce and hostage release deal outlined by U.S. President Joe Biden.

Since Biden spoke at the White House on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Israel will pursue the war — now nearing its ninth month — until it has destroyed Hamas and freed the captives taken during the Palestinian militant group's unprecedented Oct. 7 attack.

Hamas has said it "views positively" what Biden described as an Israeli proposal.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss the deal, the State Department said in a pair of statements Sunday night.

In the calls, Blinken "commended" Israel on the proposal and "emphasised that Hamas should take the deal without delay".

Netanyahu is under intense domestic pressure from two sides.

Protesters backing an immediate hostage release, who rallied again Saturday in Tel Aviv, want him to strike a truce deal, but his far-right allies are threatening to bring down the government if he does.

Meanwhile, fighting has continued to rock Gaza, with reports of Israeli strikes on refugee camps killing families.

"Four people were killed in an Israeli air attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp and six women and children have been reported killed in an attack on the nearby Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza,"  Al Jazeera reported.

Gaza's European hospital reported late Sunday night that three people were wounded in a strike on a neighbourhood in northern Rafah, while eyewitnesses reported multiple injuries and deaths in a strike early Monday on a home west of the city.

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