Palestinian media say more than 70 people were killed in Gaza after Israeli air strikes hit houses in the early hours on Thursday.

This came after the Israeli military issued a warning to residents in northern Gaza on Wednesday, telling them to evacuate ahead of its planned attack on the area which would use "extreme force." It then began to bombard northern, as well as southern parts of Gaza.

Palestinian news outlets say at least 74 people were killed in the airstrikes that continued through the night.

Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas are taking place in Qatar to coincide with US President Donald Trump's visit this week to the Middle East. However, not much progress has reportedly been made so far.

The United Nations says the entire population of over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza now faces the risk of famine, as the Israeli military has refused to allow shipments of humanitarian supplies in for more than 2 months.

The US government has said that it is planning to set up a distribution base for humanitarian supplies in Gaza through the work of a private-sector foundation. A US media report quotes the foundation as saying it would launch its operations by the end of the month.

However, the United Nations and aid groups have criticized the plan, calling it a way for Israel to shut down the existing UN aid distribution system and replace it with a system controlled by the Israeli military.

xinhua