Gaza: The Israeli ground troops, backed by aircraft, have killed dozens of "terrorists" during operations in Gaza City over the past day, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said Saturday morning.

In a statement, the IDF said the air forces, directed by ground troops, struck more than 15 armed militants in Gaza City within three hours. Additionally, fierce battles were going on, and more Hamas militants were killed.

In northern Gaza's Beit Lahia, the Israeli troops dismantled two Hamas military compounds, where they located numerous weapons, explosive devices, guns, military equipment, and communication devices before the strike, the statement added.

As the Israeli army intensified its military campaign in Gaza, Osama Hamdan, a Hamas politburo member, denied on Saturday Israeli media reports of talks unfolding on a new hostage deal in exchange for another temporary ceasefire in the enclave.

Hamdan told Al Jazeera that Hamas had informed mediators that a permanent ceasefire is the militant group's major priority and that there is currently "no talk of releasing hostages before the fighting stops."

Meanwhile, at least 165 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours, said the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Saturday.

It raised the death toll of Palestinians to 21,672 since the conflict broke out on October 7, the ministry added.

(UNI/ XINHUA)