Israeli forces killed 37 people in the devastated territory on Saturday, according to Gaza's civil defence agency, including at least nine children who died in strikes.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said 35 people were killed in seven Israeli drone and air strikes in various locations, and two others by Israeli fire while waiting for food aid in the Netzarim zone in central Gaza.

He said the dead included three children who were killed in an air strike on a home in Jabalia, in northern Gaza.

Bassal said at least six more children died in a neighbourhood in the northeast of Gaza City, including some in an air strike near a school where displaced people were sheltering.

At Al-Shifa hospital, mourners wept over the bodies of seven people, including at least two children, wrapped in white shrouds and blankets

Video footage filmed from southern Israel showed smoke rising over northern Gaza after blasts.

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in October 2023 in response to a deadly attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

After claiming victory in a 12-day war against Iran that ended with a ceasefire on June 24, the Israeli military said it would refocus on its offensive in Gaza, where Palestinian militants still hold Israeli hostages.

Qatar said on Saturday that it and fellow mediators the United States and Egypt were engaging with Israel and Hamas to build on momentum from the ceasefire with Iran and work towards a Gaza truce. (AFP)