Israeli officials say around 1,200 people were killed in the surprise Palestinian assault and 251 taken hostages, 58 of are believed to still be in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has estimated that more than 54,600 people have been killed amid the Israeli operations that ensued.

As one of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members, the U.S. possesses veto power, which prevents any resolution from being approved.

The group was ready to engage in a new round of ceasefire talks, and communication with mediating countries was ongoing, he added. The latest U.S. proposal was came via President Donald Trump's special envoy,

Sixteen Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military in Gaza on Friday, according to local health authorities, as a U.S.- and Israeli-backed group said it had handed out aid in the enclave after earlier saying that its distribution sites were closed.

Over the past three days, there have been a series of deadly incidents on the route to an aid distribution site in Gaza run by a controversial group backed by the US and Israel. The three incidents took place on roads approaching one of the new sites in the extreme south-west of Gaza,

An Israel- and US-backed mechanism to distribute food in Gaza suspended operations for a day and a half following a series of deadly incidents near its sites that drew international criticism.