Israel has offered a 45-day ceasefire if it releases half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza

Israel on Tuesday launched its most intense strikes on the Gaza Strip since a January 19 ceasefire

"Every death would have and could have been avoided had Hamas accepted the 'bridge' proposal that SE Witkoff offered last Wednesday," says a State Department spokesperson

A ceasefire must be reinstated immediately, Muhannad Hadi said in a statement

The White House confirmed that Israel consulted US President Donald Trump's administration before launching the wave of strikes

A senior Hamas official said Tuesday fresh talks had begun in Doha, with Israel also sending negotiators.

Hamas said there were "positive indicators" for the start of the ceasefire's second-phase talks but did not elaborate.

The first phase of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian fighter group Hamas was set to expire over the weekend, without any certainty as to the second phase.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel had received the coffins of "four fallen hostages"

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed they had received the coffins of "four fallen hostages", and a process to formally identify them had started in Israel.

The ceasefire has largely halted the Israel-Hamas war sparked by the October 7, 2023 attack, and has seen 25 hostages released so far in exchange for hundreds of prisoners.

The first phase of the Gaza truce is due to expire in early March

The group admitted "the possibility of an error or mix-up of bodies", which it attributed to Israeli bombing of the area.

The transfer of the bodies is the first by Hamas since its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war

19 freed so far in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners

Rubio was in Israel on his first Middle East trip as President Donald Trump's secretary of state

Rubio is expected to push US President Donald Trump's widely condemned proposal to take control of Gaza and relocate its more than two million residents

Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of violating the January 19 ceasefire

Hamas fighters also took 251 hostages, of whom 73 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the premier to "open the gates of hell" if Israel doesn't get back "all the hostages... by Saturday".