GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, July 5, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli military operations killed 20 people across the war-battered territory on Saturday, after nearly 21 months of war.

Israel has recently expanded its military operations in the Gaza Strip, where the war has created dire humanitarian conditions for the Palestinian territory's population of more than two million.

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

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said five of the dead were killed in a strike on a school in Gaza City.

A second strike near another school in the city where displaced civilians had found shelter killed three people and wounded around 10, including children, he said.

Many Gazans have sought shelter in schools and other public buildings since the war began with Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it could not comment on specific attacks without precise coordinates.

The latest strikes came hours after Hamas said it was ready to start talks "immediately" on a US-sponsored proposal for a Gaza ceasefire.

The proposal came ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's departure for talks on Monday in Washington, where US President Donald Trump has intensified calls for an end to the war.

Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Out of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants on October 7, 2023, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed more than 57,000 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers its figures reliable.