Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorized a delegation to continue talks in Qatar on a ceasefire and hostage release deal, his office said Thursday.

The Israeli military kept up the pressure on northern Gaza on Wednesday, striking in a suburb of Gaza City, medics said, and told residents in a central part of the enclave to evacuate from an area where militants were firing rockets.

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 50 people, including several children, across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, hitting Hamas security officers and an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone.