US President Joe Biden's administration has notified Congress of a proposed $8 billion arms sale to Israel, two US officials said, with Washington maintaining support for its ally as the war in Gaza kills tens of thousands.
The deal would need approval from House of Representatives and Senate committees and includes munitions for fighter jets and attack helicopters as well as artillery shells. The package also includes small-diameter bombs and warheads, according to the sources.
One source familiar with the package said Biden had been clear that Israel had a right to defend its citizens "consistent with international law and international humanitarian law," and that the US would continue to provide the capabilities necessary for Israel's defence.
Some of the munitions deliveries could be furnished through current US stock, while the majority would take up to several years to deliver, the source said.
Meanwhile, an Israeli military strike has killed 12 people in a house in Gaza City, bringing the death toll from strikes across the Gaza Strip to 65 over the last day, Palestinian medics say, as mediators launched a new ceasefire push in Qatar.
Residents and medics said at least 14 people had been in the house of the al-Ghoula family when the strike took place in the early hours of Saturday, destroying the building.
People scoured the rubble for possible survivors trapped under the debris and medics said several children were among those killed.
"At about 2am we were woken up by the sound of a huge explosion," said Ahmed Ayyan, a neighbour of the al-Ghoula family, adding that 14 or 15 people had been staying in the house.
"Most of them are women and children, they are all civilians, there is no one there who shot missiles or is from the resistance," Ayyan told Reuters.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the incident.
Israeli strikes have killed 65 people in two days, the Hamas-controlled health ministry says. (AP PHOTO)
The military said in a statement on Saturday that its forces had continued their operations this week in Beit Hanoun town in the northern edge of the enclave, where the army has been operating for three months, and had destroyed a military complex that had been used by Hamas.
In Jabalia in the north, an Israeli air strike killed three Palestinians, medics said.
Earlier in the day, another Israeli air strike killed three people in a car east of the central town of Deir al-Balah, they said.
Saturday's deaths brought the toll to 65 since Friday, health officials said.
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 US president-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
Israeli mediators were dispatched to resume talks in Doha brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and the US urged Hamas on Friday to agree to a deal.
Hamas said it was committed to reaching an agreement but it was unclear how close the two sides were.
Later on Saturday, the armed group released a video showing an Israeli female hostage - identified by Israeli media as a soldier - urging Israel to do more to secure the hostages' release, saying her life and that of other captives was in danger because of the ongoing Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip.
Israel's military has in the past called such videos "psychological warfare" by Hamas.
Israel launched its assault in response to a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in which militants stormed border communities from the Gaza Strip, killing about 1200 people and seizing about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Its military campaign, with the stated goal of eradicating Hamas, has levelled swathes of the enclave, driving most people from their homes and has killed 45,717 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.