A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment on the Palestinian territory on Nov 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (PHOTO / AFP)

JERUSALEM / GAZA / CAIRO / AMMAN / RAMALLAH - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Saturday that it has expanded the offensive against Hamas in the Palestinian coastal enclave of Gaza Strip.

The IDF said that the attacks were carried out in the Zeitoun district in southern Gaza City and the city of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip to hit Hamas and its infrastructures.

It claimed that a Hamas brigade command and control center is located in Jabalia, with four Hamas battalions, while a major battalion operates in Zeitoun.

The IDF also revealed the identities of six Israeli soldiers who were killed in Gaza battles over the past few days, bringing to 56 its death toll since launching the ground incursion into Gaza.

Egypt condemned the "horrific" Israeli bombing of a UN school-converted shelter in the Gaza Strip, which killed at least 100 displaced Palestinians inside

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Hamas confirmed on Saturday that Ahmed Bahar, a member of Hamas' political bureau, was killed by an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip.

Hamas said in a statement that Bahar died "after being injured as a result of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza," without providing further details.

Bahar is the highest-ranking leader officially confirmed dead by Hamas since the outbreak of its conflict with Israel on Oct 7.

Bahar, 74, has served as the acting speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council since Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006.

Previously, Bahar also held several other senior Hamas posts, including the head of the Shura Council.

Israeli troops have been carrying out attacks on Gaza over the past weeks to retaliate against the Hamas surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, during which Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages. The ongoing conflict has also killed more than 12,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's government media office.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that, currently, there is no deal reached yet on the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu denied "incorrect reports" about a deal of releasing part of about 240 hostages held in Gaza is approaching, adding that the Israeli public will be updated if such an agreement is reached.

"All the people of Israel are marching with you," Netanyahu told the families of hostages, as some of them just completed a five-day march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, urging the government to do more to secure the release of hostages.

Palestinians search the rubble of a building for survivors follwoing Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Nov 18, 2023 amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (PHOTO / AFP)

Netanyahu said he invited the representatives of the families to meet his cabinet in the coming days "to clarify how important this issue is to everyone."

He also vowed Israel will "keep fighting until Hamas is destroyed," despite growing international pressure to stop the war.

Also on Saturday, Egypt condemned the "horrific" Israeli bombing of a UN school-converted shelter in the Gaza Strip, which killed at least 100 displaced Palestinians inside.

Al-Fakhoura school bombing

In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the bombing of the Al-Fakhoura school is Israel's "another blatant violation" against civilians in Gaza, and "another war crime that requires investigation and holding its perpetrators accountable."

It added that targeting the school, which is run by the UN refugee agency in Gaza, represents a deliberate insult to the United Nations, its relief organizations and humanitarian goals.

The ministry reiterated its appeal to influential international parties and the UN Security Council to intervene immediately to put an end to the human suffering in the Gaza Strip, implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and provide the necessary protection for Palestinian civilians.

At least 100 Palestinians were killed and dozens of others wounded after Israel bombed the Al-Fakhoura school which housed displaced people in the northern Gaza Strip, a Palestinian medical source told Xinhua on Saturday.

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Jordan also condemned the Israeli strikes on school-converted shelters in the Gaza Strip, which led to the killing of a number of displaced Palestinians.

In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry voiced the kingdom's strong rejection and condemnation of the Israeli assaults, saying it was a blatant violation of international law.

The ministry's spokesperson, Sufian Qudah, stressed the need for intensifying efforts to stop the raging Israeli attacks, Israel's "repeated violations of international law and international humanitarian law," and its assaults on civilians, schools, hospitals and places of worship, the statement added.

Earlier Saturday, the Israeli military struck the Al-Fakhoura school in the Jabalia refugee camp, and the Tel al-Zaatar school in northern Gaza, both housing displaced people.

Palestinians walk down a road as they flee Gaza City and other parts of northern Gaza towards the southern areas on Nov 18, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement (PHOTO / AFP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday called on US President Joe Biden to immediately intervene to stop the Israeli killing of the Palestinian people.

In a televised statement aired by the state-run Palestine TV, Abbas urged Biden to immediately intervene in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, given his significant influence on Israel.

"What our people are enduring in terms of killing and destruction surpasses human capacity," Abbas said.

"Isn't the shedding of the blood of children, women, and the elderly enough to awaken the world's conscience?" he asked.

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Abbas also urged Biden to press for the entry of needed humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, stressing that the Palestinian people deserve to live in their homeland with freedom and dignity.

Abbas added that the Palestinian people will remain steadfast on their land until they attain their legitimate rights to independence and statehood.