The new talks will focus on agreeing on a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, he added.

Meanwhile, Israel has carried out airstrikes on dozens of Hamas targets in Gaza over the past 24 hours, it said on Friday, in attacks that Palestinian health authorities said had killed more than 110 people in two days.

The surge in operations and casualties comes amid a renewed push to reach a ceasefire in the 15-month-old war and return Israeli hostages before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20

Israeli mediators were dispatched to resume talks in Doha brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators and on Friday, United States President Joe Biden's administration, which is helping to broker the talks, urged Hamas to agree to a deal. 

Hamas said it was committed to reaching an agreement but it was unclear how close the two sides were.

The Gaza health ministry said more than 40 people were killed on Friday after 71 were killed a day earlier including in Al-Mawasi, an area in central Gaza previously declared a humanitarian safe zone by Israeli authorities.

The Israeli military said it had hit around 40 Hamas gathering points as well as command and control centres. It said it had taken numerous measures to reduce the risk of harming civilians, including using precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.

It accused Hamas, the Islamist movement that formerly controlled Gaza, of placing fighters in civilian areas including buildings formerly used as schools, where it said troops had found a number of weapons. Hamas rejects accusations it deliberately uses the civilian population to shield fighters.

--Reuters--