U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators shuttled between the Israeli and Hamas delegations in Doha on Tuesday, where officials said a deal to halt the war is near.

Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting in Gaza and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners as a first step towards an end to the 15-month-old war.

Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting in the Gaza Strip and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners as a first step towards an end to the 15-month-old war.

Work on an agreement that would pause months of fighting and free some hostages resumed after Hamas went silent.

The Israeli government and Hamas say that they are in the final stages of indirect talks over a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Quoting local sources, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that 13 people were killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a home belonging to the "Shahin" family in the southern area of Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip.

Gaza's civil defence agency said on Wednesday that Israeli strikes killed at least 24 people across the Palestinian territory, with Israel's military saying it had targeted Hamas militants overnight.The latest violence,