Israeli strikes hit Hamas and Islamic Jihad positions

An Israeli military strike killed 12 people in a house in Gaza City early on Saturday.

The house was home to a cell of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The military said in a statement on Saturday that its forces had continued their operations this week in Beit Hanoun town in the northern edge of the enclave, where the army has been operating for three months, and had destroyed a military complex that had been used by Hamas.

A surge in Israeli operations and the number of Palestinians killed in recent days comes amid a renewed push to reach a ceasefire in the 15-month-old war and return Israeli hostages before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Israeli mediators were dispatched to resume talks in Doha brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, which is helping to broker the talks, urged Hamas on Friday to agree to a deal.

Hamas said it was committed to reaching an agreement but it was unclear how close the two sides were.