At least seven Palestinians, including two children, were killed overnight Friday as Israel continued attacks on Gaza, even as US President Donald Trump ordered a halt to the genocidal war following Palestinain group Hamas's partial acceptance of his ceasefire proposal.
"It was a very violent night, during which the (Israeli army) carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the Strip, despite President Trump's call to halt the bombing," civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
Bassal added that 20 homes were destroyed in the overnight bombardments.
Gaza City's Baptist Hospital said in a statement that it received casualties from a strike on a home in the city's Tuffah neighbourhood, including four dead and several wounded.
Gaza's Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis said two children were killed and eight people were wounded in a drone strike on a tent in camp for displaced Gazans.
In a statement on X, Israel confirmed the attacks and threatened further strikes on Gaza City.
"The IDF (Israeli military) troops are still operating in Gaza City, and returning to it is extremely dangerous. For your safety, avoid returning north or approaching areas of IDF troop activity anywhere -- including in the southern Gaza Strip," the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, said on X.
The attacks came as families of the Israeli captives held in Gaza by Hamas called for an immediate ceasefire.
"President Trump's demand to stop the war immediately is essential to prevent serious and irreversible harm to the hostages," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
"We call on Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu to immediately begin efficient and swift negotiations to bring all our hostages home," it added.
Meanhwile UN rights chief Volker Turk on Saturday said Trump's plan was a "vital opportunity" to stop bloodshed and misery in the Palestinian territory "once and for all."
"This is a vital opportunity for all parties and influential states to pursue in good faith and stop -- once and for all -- the carnage and the suffering in Gaza, to flood the strip with humanitarian aid, and to ensure the release of the hostages and numerous detained Palestinians," his office said on X.
Hamas calls for talks
Hamas on Saturday said it is ready to start talks to resolve all outstanding issues under Trump's ceasefire deal.
"We are ready to begin negotiations immediately to finalise all issues," a senior Hamas official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The Palestinian group had on Friday informed that it accepted several parts of the plan put forward by Trump, even though experts have pointed out that the proposal is far from favourable to the Palestinians.
Welcoming Hamas's response to the plan, Trump said "I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE."
He further ordered Israel to halt its genocidal operations on Gaza, "Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly! Right now, it's far too dangerous to do that. We are already in discussions on the details to be worked out."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said Israel was prepared for the implementation of the "first stage" of Trump's plan, apparently referring to the release of hostages. But his office said in a statement that Israel was committed to ending the war based on principles it has set out before, without addressing potential gaps with Hamas.
World leaders welcome Hamas response to Trump's plan
Meanwhile, world leaders welcomed Hamas's response to the plan, hailing it as a positive development towards ending Israel's two-year-long onslaught on the Palestinian people.
Calling on all the parties to seize the opportunity and work on an immediate ceasefire, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he is "encouraged" by Hamas's resposne to Trump's plan.
"I reiterate my consistent call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and unfettered humanitarian access. The UN will support all efforts toward these objectives to prevent even more suffering," he said.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said halting the war in Gaza was "within reach."
"Hamas' stated readiness to release hostages and engage on the basis of the recent proposal is encouraging," von der Leyen wrote on X. "This moment must be seized. An immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages are within reach."
French President Emmanuel Macron said the Palestinian group's commitment "must be followed up without delay," saying there is an opportunity to "make decisive progress towards peace."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Hamas’s response was a "constructive and significant step toward achieving lasting peace," and called on Israel to “immediately stop all its attacks" on the Palestinain territories.
Key mediators Egypt and Qatar also welcomed the latest developments, and Majed Al Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, said they would "continue discussions on the plan."
Israel's genocidal war on Gaza has so far killed at least 67,074 Palestinians, more than half of them being women and children. At least 440 Palestinians have died due to starvation induced by Israel's continuous blockade of aid into Gaza. Over 220 journalists and at least 1000 healthcare workers have also been killed, mostly in targeted attacks by Israel.