Rescuers said Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 52 people on Monday, 33 of them in a school-turned-shelter, as European allies ramped up their criticism of Israel.
While the war raged on, mediators presented a proposal for a 70-day ceasefire and hostage-release deal to Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian source said.
The territory's civil defence agency said many of the casualties at the school in Gaza City were children, while the Israeli military said the site was housing "key terrorists".
Moreover, a US-backed foundation tasked with supplying aid to Gaza made a faltering start on Monday, with no clear sign that it had distributed promised supplies, a day after its chief unexpectedly stepped down.
The aid plan, which has been endorsed by Israel but rejected by the UN, is unfolding amid fierce Israeli attacks on the enclave.
With food still critically short after a nearly three-month blockade, Washington says it is working to restore a ceasefire more than 19 months into the war, but progress is elusive.
A Palestinian official said Hamas had agreed to a US proposal for a truce and the release of 10 Israeli hostages, but an Israeli official dismissed the proposal as unacceptable, denying it was Washington's.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff rejected reports that Hamas had agreed to his proposal, telling Reuters that what he has seen is "completely unacceptable".
Israel has faced a mounting international outcry this month, including from Western allies, as it launched a new offensive in Gaza, already largely destroyed by Israeli bombardment and where the population of 2 million is at risk of famine.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which intends to use private contractors working under a broad Israeli security umbrella, said it would begin deliveries on Monday, with the aim of reaching one million Palestinians by the end of the week.
"We plan to scale up rapidly to serve the full population in the weeks ahead," it said in a statement.
The Switzerland-registered foundation has been heavily criticised by the United Nations, whose officials have said the private company's aid distribution plans are insufficient for reaching the more than two million Gazans.
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