Hamas says Israel killed 70 Palestinians despite claims of reduced military operations in Gaza

Israeli airstrikes and shelling killed 70 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, including women and children, despite Israeli claims of scaling back military operations against civilians, according to Hamas.

"This ongoing bloody escalation exposes the lies of the claims of the war criminal Netanyahu's government regarding reducing military operations against defenseless civilians," the Palestinian resistance group said in a statement.

It urged the international community, Arab and Islamic countries, to assume their legal and humanitarian "responsibilities" by protecting Palestinians, providing relief and intensifying pressure to end the two-year "war of extermination" and starvation in Gaza.

A statement from the Gaza Media Office said the Israeli army carried out 93 airstrikes, killing 70 people, including 47 in Gaza City.

That was after US President Donald Trump urged Israel on Friday to "stop bombing Gaza immediately" after Hamas announced its willingness to release Israeli captives under his ceasefire proposal, saying he believed the movement was "ready for lasting peace."

Egypt announced Saturday that it will host Israeli and Hamas delegations on Monday to discuss details of a prisoner exchange as part of Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza.

Trump unveiled his 20-point plan on Sept. 29, including the release of Israeli captives within 72 hours of Israel's approval, a ceasefire and the disarmament of Hamas.

Tel Aviv estimates that 48 Israeli captives remain in Gaza, including 20 alive. Israel, meanwhile, holds around 11,100 Palestinian captives, many of whom face torture, hunger, and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and most of the infrastructure has been reduced to rubble.