Israeli forces kill 95 people in Gaza as ceasefire calls mount

Israeli forces killed at least 95 people on Monday, including over 30 at a seafront rest area, as fresh calls grew for a ceasefire in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, Al Jazeera English reported.

The swift resolution of Israel's 12-day war with Iran has revived hopes for a halt to the fighting in Gaza, where more than 20 months of combat have created dire humanitarian conditions for the population of more than two million.

US President Donald Trump has recently urged Israel to "make the deal in Gaza", while key mediator Qatar said Monday that "momentum" had been created by the truce with Iran last week.

But on the ground, Israel has continued to pursue its offensive across the Palestinian territory in a bid to destroy the group Hamas.

Gaza's civil defence agency said 95 people had been killed by Israeli forces since dawn on Monday, including over 30 in a strike on a rest area on Gaza City's seafront.

"The place is always crowded with people because the rest area offers drinks, family seating and internet access," eyewitness Ahmed Al-Nayrab, 26, told news agency AFP, recalling a "huge explosion that shook the area".

"I saw body parts flying everywhere, and bodies cut and burned... It was a scene that made your skin crawl."

Another eyewitness, Bilal Awkal, 35, said "blood covered the ground and screams filled the air".

"Women and children were everywhere, like a scene from a movie about the end of the world."

The Israeli army said in a statement it was "looking into" the reports.

The government media office reported that photojournalist Ismail Abu Hatab was among those killed in the strike.

'Targeting was deliberate'

According to Al Jazeera English, Israeli forces intensified their assault on Monday, killing at least 62 people in Gaza City and the northern region.

Meanwhile, the Qatari publication also reported on Monday that Israeli forces struck the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, where thousands of displaced families had taken shelter.

Footage said to be verified by Al Jazeera English showed panic and chaos as people fled for safety and tents appeared damaged by the assault.

Eyewitnesses and local authorities additionally have reported repeated killings of Palestinians near distribution centres in recent weeks, after Israel began allowing in a trickle of aid at the end of May.

Samir Abu Jarbou, 28, told AFP by phone that he had gone with relatives to pick up food in an area of central Gaza around midnight.

"Suddenly the (Israeli) army opened fire, and drones started shooting. We ran away and got nothing," he said.

In the southern city of Khan Younis, the dead and wounded were rushed to a hospital in an open-top trailer after aid seekers said they were fired on by Israeli forces in Rafah.

"The targeting was deliberate, aimed at people as they were leaving," eyewitness Aboud al-Adwi told AFP.

"There was no one among us who was wanted or posed any threat. We were all civilians, simply trying to get food for our children," he added.

AFP footage from Nasser Hospital showed the wounded being treated on a blood-stained floor.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment about the civil defence reports.

 'No longer any benefit'

Netanyahu had said on Sunday that Israel's "victory" over Iran had created "opportunities", including for freeing hostages.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid, meanwhile, called for an end to the fighting in the territory on Monday, saying there was "no longer any benefit" to the war.

"We now face the completion of the campaign in Gaza, to achieve its objectives -- foremost among them, the release of all hostages and the defeat of Hamas," Defence Minister Israel Katz said during a meeting with Netanyahu and the army's general staff.

Trump had said on Friday that he was hoping for a new ceasefire in Gaza "within the next week".

Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is in Washington this week for talks with US officials.

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told journalists on Monday that "momentum" had been created by the Iran-Israel ceasefire on June 24, but that "we won't hold our breath for this to happen today and tomorrow".

Israel's offensive in Gaza, described as genocide, has killed at least 56,531 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the territory's health ministry.