The Israeli military, Thursday (28/3) reported fighting in the area near Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, as well as in Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said on Thursday that 62 Palestinians had been killed the previous day.
According to the ministry, at least 32,552 people have been killed during Israel's counteroffensive, which began in October after Hamas attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people.
On the other hand, Israel, Wednesday (27/3) agreed to send its war strategists to Washington to discuss its intention to launch a ground attack against Hamas militants in Rafah, a city in the southern part of Gaza.
On Monday (25/3), Israel canceled the visit in protest at the US refusal to veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
The US, Israel's staunchest ally in the six-month war, abstained from a vote at the UN this week after vetoing a similar resolution before that. This sparked criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, evidence of growing divisions with Washington over Israel's behavior in the war.
Although Netanyahu canceled a visit from a team of war strategists, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was in Washington for talks with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Foreign Minister Antony Blinken this week.
Netanyahu has said that the attack on Rafah is necessary to eliminate Hamas' control over Gaza, a narrow enclave on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. But the US has informed Israel of its opposition to the Rafah invasion, especially as more than a million Palestinian civilians are sheltering there in tents and temporary structures.
Israel said it would move Palestinians to safety before launching attacks on four Hamas battalions based in Rafah, but has not indicated where they would be sent.
While insisting that the US abstention was “very, very bad,” Netanyahu told visiting Republican US Senator Rick Scott that his initial decision to cancel the Israeli delegation's visit “was a message first and foremost to Hamas: Don't put too much faith in UN pressure for a ceasefire. This won't work.”
Netanyahu said the Security Council vote “encourages Hamas to dare to take a hard line and to believe that international pressure will prevent Israel” from achieving its war aims. Israel has vowed to continue fighting until the Hamas military is destroyed and the approximately 100 remaining hostages can be freed.
The White House said “it would be a good idea” to hold more talks with Israeli officials and that dates were being discussed.
The war began with a Hamas terror attack on October 7 against Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to the taking of around 250 hostages. More than 100 people were freed last November during a weeklong ceasefire.
The health ministry's death toll in Gaza includes Hamas members and civilians. According to the ministry, two-thirds of those killed were women and children. The ministry said that in addition to the dead, nearly 75,000 other people were injured. (uh/ab)