Israeli airstrikes hit about 40 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military said on Friday, hours after Hamas rejected an Israeli ceasefire offer that it said fell short of its demand to agree a full end to the war.

Israeli troops will remain in the buffer zones they have created in Gaza even after any settlement to end the war, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday.

Hamas has reportedly rejected a six-week Israeli cease-fire proposal that would have cost the armed group to surrender its weapons while Israel continues military assaults on Gaza.