Israeli forces kept up attacks across the Gaza Strip, killing more than a dozen Palestinians as people in central az-Zawayda mourned 15 members of a family killed on Saturday.

    Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains the main obstacle to a ceasefire and captive exchange deal as Israeli negotiators expressed “cautious optimism” after two days of truce talks in Qatar.

    In Israel, thousands of antigovernment protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities demanding Netanyahu accept the ceasefire deal.

    At least 40,074 people have been killed and 92,537 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 were taken captive.