Israeli strikes kill 43 as truce talks deadlocked

Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed more than 40 Palestinians, including at a market and a water distribution point, as talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stalled.

Delegations from Israel and Hamas have now spent a week trying to agree on a temporary truce to halt 21 months of devastating fighting in the Gaza Strip.

But on Saturday, each side accused the other of blocking attempts to secure an agreement at the indirect talks in the Qatari capital, Doha.

On the ground, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said at least 43 people were killed in the latest Israeli strikes, including 11 when a market in Gaza City was hit.

Elsewhere, eight children were among the 10 victims of a drone strike at a water point in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, Bassal said.

Israel's military said it had been targeting a member of Hamas ally Islamic Jihad but "as a result of a technical error with the munition, the munition fell dozens of meters from the target," a statement read.

"The incident is under review" and reports of casualties were being examined, it added.

Khaled Rayyan told AFP he was woken by the sound of two large explosions after a house was hit in Nuseirat.

"Our neighbour and his children were under the rubble," he said.

Another resident, Mahmud al-Shami, called on the negotiators to secure a deal.

"What happened to us has never happened in the entire history of humanity," he said. "Enough."

Fuel shortages

UN agencies on Saturday warned that fuel shortages in Gaza had reached "critical levels", threatening to worsen conditions for the enclave's more than two million people.

"Only 150,000 litres of fuel have been allowed in over the past few days -- an amount that covers less than one day's needs," the head of the Palestinian NGOs Network in Gaza, Amjad Shawa, told AFP on Sunday.

"We require 275,000 litres of fuel per day to meet basic needs."

Meanwhile, the Handala, a former Norwegian trawler loaded with medical supplies, food and children's equipment, set sail from Italy, with the pro-Palestinian activists on board hoping to reach Gaza, despite Israel having recently detained and deported people aboard a previous vessel.

Forced displacement fears 

Talks to seal a 60-day ceasefire and captive release were in the balance on Saturday after Israel and Hamas accused each other of trying to block a deal.

Hamas wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but a Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks said Israel had presented plans to maintain troops in more than 40 percent of the territory.

The source said Israel wanted to force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into the south of Gaza "in preparation for forcibly displacing them to Egypt or other countries".

A senior Israeli official said Israel had demonstrated an openness "to flexibility in the negotiations, while Hamas remains intransigent, clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is prepared to enter talks for a more lasting end to hostilities once a temporary truce is agreed, but only if Hamas disarms.

Thousands of people gathered in Israel's coastal hub of Tel Aviv on Saturday to call for the release of the captives. 

"The window of opportunity... is open now and it won't be for long," said former captive Eli Sharabi.