The Israel Defense Forces said Friday morning that its ground troops had begun operating in the Shejaiya area of the northern Gaza Strip.

DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza (AP) — Israeli strikes killed more than a dozen people in the Gaza Strip early Friday, as Israel sent more ground troops into the Palestinian territory to ramp up its offensive against Hamas.

In pressing forward with its assault on the territory, Israel hopes to squeeze Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages. But other objectives have emerged.

Israel, which agreed several weeks ago to Witkoff's proposal, now rejects it and is demanding the release of 11 living hostages in return for a 40-day ceasefire. Israel also demands that on day 10 of the ceasefire Hamas releases 16 bodies of dead hostages.

The Hamas militant group said Saturday it has accepted a new Gaza ceasefire proposal from mediators Egypt and Qatar, but Israel said it has made a counter-proposal in "full coordination" with the third mediator, the United States.