Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorized a delegation to continue talks in Qatar on a ceasefire and hostage release deal, his office said Thursday.

The Israeli military kept up the pressure on northern Gaza on Wednesday, striking in a suburb of Gaza City, medics said, and told residents in a central part of the enclave to evacuate from an area where militants were firing rockets.

Israel carried out air strikes on dozens of Hamas targets in Gaza over the past 24 hours, it said on Friday, in attacks that Palestinian health authorities said had killed nearly 100 people. The surge in operations and casualties comes amid a renewed push to reach a ceasefire agreement before U.