Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes on two urban refugee camps in central Gaza on Saturday.
Amid world calls for a ceasefire, the Biden administration approved the sale of a new emergency weapon to Israel.
Israel says it is committed to continuing its heavy air and ground attacks until the destruction of Hamas. The US has diplomatically defended Israel and continued to supply arms.
Israel argues that ending the war now would mean victory for Hamas. A senior Hamas official told The Associated Press in Beirut on Saturday that the group has not backed down from its position that a permanent ceasefire should be the starting point for the release of Israeli and foreign nationals held hostage by the group.
About 85 percent of the people in the Gaza Strip have been displaced in the war that started due to Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7.
The health ministry in Gaza said on Saturday that the Palestinian death toll had risen to 21,672 since the start of the war, while 56,165 people were injured during the same period.
Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said that 165 people died in the last 24 hours.
Residents of the urban refugee camps of Nussirat and Burij reported Israeli air strikes overnight on Friday and into Saturday.
Mustafa Abu Wawi, a resident of Nusirat, said one of his relatives’ house was attacked, killing two people.
In the second attack late on Friday night in Nusirat, the house of a journalist of Al-Quds television channel was targeted. Journalist Jaber Abu Hadros and six members of his family were killed, the channel said.
Burridge resident Rami Abu Mosab said gunshots echoed throughout the camp throughout the night.
Meanwhile, the US State Department said on Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress that he has approved the sale of $147.5 million for equipment including fuses, charges and primers.
The department cited “Israel’s defensive needs” as the reason for approval and said that “it is important to US national interests to ensure that Israel is able to defend itself against the threats it faces.”