7 JUNE  AFP

Israeli strikes hammered a Gaza refugee camp on Friday after a deadly strike on a UN-run school, as the war sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel entered its ninth month.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands, laid waste to much of the Gaza Strip, uprooted most of its 2.4 million population and put them at risk of starvation.

Diplomatic efforts to mediate the first ceasefire since a week-long pause in November appear to have stalled, only a week after US President Joe Biden offered a new three-stage roadmap.

Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, has yet to respond to Biden's proposal. Israel has expressed openness to discussions while insisting on pursuing its war aim of destroying the Palestinian Islamist group.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza said at least 37 people were killed in Thursday's Israeli strike on the UN-run school in Nuseirat camp.

The Israeli army said its fighter jets killed nine "terrorists" in three classrooms where about 30 militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad had been hiding.