US president Donald Trump voiced optimism Friday about a new ceasefire in Gaza, as criticism grew over mounting civilian deaths at Israeli-backed food distribution centres in the territory.
Asked by reporters how close a ceasefire was between Israel and Hamas, Trump said: 鈥榃e think within the next week, we鈥檙e going to get a ceasefire.鈥�
Gaza鈥檚 civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 23 people in the war-stricken territory on Saturday, including at least three children who died when a house was struck.
鈥楢t least 23 dead and dozens of wounded were taken [to hospitals] after Israeli firing and raids鈥� across Gaza, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
Among the casualties were three children who were killed in an air strike on a home in Jabalia, northern Gaza.
AFP video footage from Gaza City showed relatives weeping over the bodies of children killed in nearby Jabalia.
Bassal said the children were among 21 people killed in six air strikes by drones and planes across the territory.
He said two other people were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for food aid in the Netzarim zone in central Gaza.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The United States brokered a ceasefire in the devastating conflict in the waning days of former president Joe Biden鈥檚 administration, with support from Trump鈥檚 incoming team.
Israel broke the ceasefire in March, launching new devastating attacks on Hamas, which attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel also stopped all food and other supplies from entering Gaza for more than two months, drawing warnings of famine.
Israel has since allowed a resumption of food through the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which involves US security contractors with Israeli troops at the periphery.
United Nations officials on Friday said the GHF system was leading to mass killings of people seeking aid, drawing accusations from Israel that the UN was 鈥榓ligning itself with Hamas.鈥�
Eyewitnesses and local officials have reported repeated killings of Palestinians at distribution centres over recent weeks in the war-stricken territory, where Israeli forces are battling Hamas militants.
The Israeli military has denied targeting people and GHF has denied any deadly incidents were linked to its sites.
But following weeks of reports, UN officials and other aid providers on Friday denounced what they said was a wave of killings of hungry people seeking aid.
The health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory says that since late May, more than 500 people have been killed near aid centres while seeking scarce supplies.
The country鈥檚 civil defence agency has also repeatedly reported people being killed while seeking aid.
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders branded the GHF relief effort 鈥榮laughter masquerading as humanitarian aid.鈥�
That drew an angry response from Israel, which said GHF had provided 46 million meals in Gaza.
鈥楾he UN is doing everything it can to oppose this effort. In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF鈥檚 humanitarian operations,鈥� the foreign ministry said.
Israel鈥檚 prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a report in left-leaning daily Haaretz that military commanders had ordered troops to shoot at crowds near aid distribution sites to disperse them even when they posed no threat.
Haaretz said the military advocate general, the army鈥檚 top legal authority, had instructed the military to investigate 鈥榮uspected war crimes鈥� at aid sites.
The Israeli military declined to comment to AFP on the claim.