Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect talks for more than a year aimed at ending the war in Gaza and returning scores of militant-held hostages in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel

Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 18 people overnight, including six women and four children, health officials said, as Israel and Hamas appeared to be narrowing in on a ceasefire deal to end the 15-month war and release dozens of hostages.

According to a report by Gaza's Ministry of Public Works and Housing, the Israel-Hamas war has left hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed or partially damaged, while some 82,000 are deemed entirely uninhabitable.