Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting in the Gaza Strip and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners as a first step towards an end to the 15-month-old war.

Work on an agreement that would pause months of fighting and free some hostages resumed after Hamas went silent.

The Israeli government and Hamas say that they are in the final stages of indirect talks over a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

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.

Among the dead were six women and four children, health officials said, as negotiators try to conclude a deal to end the 15-month war.

Palestinian health officials say Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip have killed at least 18 people overnight, including women and children