ISRAELI air strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least eight people, including two children aged seven and nine and their parents, Palestinian officials said today.

The latest Israeli killing spree comes as a Lebanese government minister close to Hezbollah said his country was about to give its “positive position” on a new plan to pause the fighting with Israel.

But in the southern city of Khan Younis, a 10-year-old child was wounded when the Israelis attacked a tent where displaced people were sheltering, according to the Civil Defence. 

A separate strike early on Monday killed four people, including a woman and a child, in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to nearby al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital.

The Israeli military rarely comments on individual strikes. Evidence provided by the Palestinians as well as authorities, such as the United Nations show that most of those killed by the Israelis have been women and children.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon a government minister close to Hezbollah says Lebanon will convey its “positive position” on a United States-backed ceasefire proposal this week.

Lebanon’s parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who is acting as a mediator, is expected to meet with US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut on Tuesday.

Labour Minister Mostafa Bayram, who met Mr Berri on Monday, said Hezbollah’s function “is to make sure the [Israeli] aggression fails to achieve its goals, while negotiation is for the state and the government.”

A Western diplomat familiar with the talks said there is a sense of “cautious optimism.”

“Diplomatic efforts are converging towards a ceasefire, but it’s still in the hands and heads of key players to decide if it’s in their interest or not to stop things right now,” said the diplomat, who was not authorised to brief the media and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

The efforts are aimed at re-establishing a UN buffer zone in southern Lebanon established after the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. 

Israel is said to be pushing for guarantees that it can continue to act militarily against Hezbollah if needed, a demand the Lebanese are unlikely to accept.

The Turkish Anadolu Agency reported late on Sunday that Turkey denied Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s plane the right to use its air space.

Israeli authorities reportedly requested permission for the plane to access the Turkish airspace on its way to Baku, Azerbaijan, where President Herzog was scheduled to attend the Cop29 conference on climate change.

The agency based its report on unnamed Turkish officials. It did not say when the permission was denied.