DOZENS of Israeli air attacks killed at least 38 Palestinians in Gaza, hospital officials said today.

The strikes came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to fly to Washington for talks at the White House, ostensibly aimed at pushing forward ceasefire efforts.

Twenty people were killed and 25 wounded after Israeli strikes hit two houses in Gaza City, according to Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa Hospital that services the area.

In southern Gaza, 18 Palestinians were killed by strikes in Muwasi, an area on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast where many displaced people live in tents, officials at Nasser Hospital in the nearby city of Khan Younis told reporters. 

Two families were wiped out, according to the hospital.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the individual strikes but claimed to have targeted Hamas command and control structures, storage facilities, weapons and launchers, and that they killed a number of militants in northern Gaza.

The strikes occurred as efforts to reach a ceasefire deal appeared to gain momentum. 

Mr Netanyahu’s office said his government will send a negotiating team to talks in Qatar on Sunday to conduct indirect talks, adding that Hamas was seeking “unacceptable” changes to the proposal.

The planned talks in Qatar come ahead of the Israeli prime minister’s planned Washington visit tomorrow to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the deal. 

Hamas has sought guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, while Mr Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the destruction of Hamas.

“Send a delegation with a full mandate to bring a comprehensive agreement to end the war and bring everyone back. No-one must be left behind,” Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, told the weekly rally by relatives and supporters in Tel Aviv.

Separately, an Israeli official said the Israeli security Cabinet on Saturday night approved sending aid into the northern part of Gaza, where civilians are suffering from starvation.

But Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said: “The Prime Minister made a mistaken decision yesterday to approve the entry of aid through a method that also reaches Hamas.”

He accused Mr Netanyahu of failing “to implement the decisions of the political echelon.”

Mr Smotrich said the decision was “unacceptable to us, and we will consider our response.”