Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Saturday killed at least 26 people as negotiations with Hamas on a potential ceasefire and hostage release resumed in Qatar.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Saturday that indirect negotiations with Hamas have resumed in Qatar for the release of hostages seized in the October 2023 attacks.

The minister told relatives of one of the hostages, woman soldier Liri Albag, that “efforts are underway to free the hostages, notably the Israeli delegation which left yesterday (Friday) for negotiations in  Qatar”, his office said.

Hamas announced on Friday that talks with Israel, mediated in Qatar, would focus on achieving a full cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. However, no updates have emerged since the discussions reportedly began.

Mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been engaged in months of effort that have failed to end nearly 15 months of war.

A key obstacle to a deal has been Israel’s reluctance to agree to a lasting ceasefire.

US President Joe Biden has repeatedly called for a ceasefire agreement. Trump has said that if there is not a deal to release the hostages before his inauguration, “all hell is going to break out”.

Israel’s military has entered nearly every part of Gaza but is still fighting Hamas militants who are waging guerrilla warfare across the ruins of the tiny enclave.

Last month, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan visited Israel and other countries in the region, aiming to help forge a deal by the year-end.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said in a statement on Saturday that its forces had continued their operations this week in Beit Hanoun town on the northern edge of the enclave, where the army has been operating for three months. It had destroyed a military complex that Hamas had used.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 59 people had been killed and more than 270 injured by strikes in the past 24 hours.

A surge in Israeli operations and the number of Palestinians killed in recent days comes amid a renewed push to reach a ceasefire in the 15-month-old war and return Israeli hostages before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Families of hostages and others have rallied weekly for months to press Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire deal that would bring loved ones home. In a video released by Hamas on Saturday ahead of the latest weekly rally, Israeli soldier and hostage Liri Albag, speaking under duress, expressed anguish over her situation and mentioned being held 450 days.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 45,717 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up more than half the dead.

The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times. Winter has now arrived, and hundreds of thousands are sheltering in tents near the sea. A small number of children have died from exposure to the cold.

With inputs from agencies.