Israel launches new air strikes in Gaza after Biden criticism

The United States hopes to secure a pause in fighting before Israel carries out a threatened ground assault on the southern city of Rafah, where over half of Gaza's 2.3 million people are sheltering near the border with Egypt.

Palestinians mourn after identifying corpses of relatives killed in overnight Israeli bombardment on the southern Gaza Strip at Al-Najjar hospital in Rafah on February 8. Picture: Mahmud Hams / AFP via Getty Images

Israeli forces carried out deadly air strikes on Gaza on Friday, hours after US President Joe Biden described the military response to the October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian territory's ruling Hamas movement as "over the top".

Israel pressed on with its bombing campaign as diplomats sought to salvage ceasefire talks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a Hamas proposal that also envisaged the release of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group.