Gaza's civil defence agency said on Wednesday that Israeli strikes killed at least 24 people across the Palestinian territory, with Israel's military saying it had targeted Hamas militants overnight.

Quoting local sources, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that 13 people were killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a home belonging to the "Shahin" family in the southern area of Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip.

Israeli airstrikes on homes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 17 Palestinians, health officials said Tuesday. Earlier strikes in Gaza killed at least 18 people, including two women and four children, according to local health officials, who said one woman was pregnant and the baby died as well.

The United Nations said on Tuesday it was busy preparing to expand humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip under a potential ceasefire but uncertainty around border access and security in the enclave remain obstacles.

A growing number of Israeli soldiers have threatened to stop fighting against Hamas in Gaza unless their government secures a ceasefire.