The latest violence came with apparent deadlock after a week of indirect talks in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas for a ceasefire after more than 21 months of war.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 10 Palestinians were killed in three separate air strikes in various part of Gaza City, in the territory’s north, with 12 more people killed in attacks on the southern area of Khan Younis.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.

A military statement today said that Israeli troops had destroyed “buildings and terrorist infrastructure” used by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad rebels in Gaza City’s Shujaiya and Zeitun areas.

The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad which has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza, released footage today that it said showed its fighters firing missiles at an Israeli army command and control centre near Shujaiya.

Media restrictions in the Gaza Strip and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties.

The vast majority of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory.