The Israeli military has killed at least 40 Palestinians in attacks on the central Gaza Strip ahead of a new round of international talks to negotiate a ceasefire and as Tel Aviv draws up a plan for the enclave after the war ends.

More than 100 people were injured in the “heinous massacre” carried out by Israeli forces in Deir el-Balah in the central part of the territory, the Gaza government’s media office said in a statement late Thursday, adding that the vast majority of victims were women and children.

“We hold the American government and the international community, in addition to Israel, fully responsible for these ongoing crimes and call on the free world to immediately end this war of extermination waged by the Israeli army against civilians,” it said.

Reporting from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said the attacks included homes “attacked without prior warning.”

Hamas said in a statement Friday that the attacks on homes “confirm to the international community that this is the case.” [Israel] is a rogue corporation that does not care about human laws and values.”

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 29,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have been killed by the Israeli army since the war began on October 7th.

Still, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said late Thursday that negotiations over a ceasefire and the exchange of prisoners held in the enclave for Palestinian prisoners had been “constructive.”

A Hamas delegation left Cairo, Egypt, on Friday after three days of talks to which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not send representatives.

Negotiations brokered by Egypt and Qatar are expected to continue later on Friday in Paris, with Israel also sending a delegation. A proposal for a new ceasefire could be drawn up in the French capital, but the details are still unclear.

“Freedom to operate” in the future Gaza Strip

Deadly Israeli ground and air strikes on Gaza continue as Tel Aviv presses ahead with plans for the besieged enclave’s future that contradict what the US and other world and regional powers have announced on Palestinian territory.

According to a Times of Israel report on a plan put forward by Netanyahu, Israel’s post-war plan calls for appointing “local officials” with no ties to countries or organizations that support “terrorism” to administer Gaza.

The report states that the Israeli military “retains full freedom to operate throughout the Gaza Strip” – similar to the military occupation of the remaining Palestinian territories throughout the West Bank.

Netanyahu’s plan also describes the “complete demilitarization” of Gaza “beyond what is necessary to maintain public order” and does not mention the Palestinian Authority (PA), which Washington wants to have control of the territory after the war over.

The Israeli prime minister, who presented the document to his security cabinet, had previously stated that the Palestinian Authority would not be part of a future post-war Gaza Strip.

Israel has also moved forward with its plan to create a “buffer zone” on the Palestinian side of its border with the Strip, which will effectively shrink the territory’s borders despite objections from the United Nations.

To implement this plan, the Israeli military leveled houses and buildings along the planned zone with air strikes, large explosive devices from its ground forces and bulldozers.

Analyst Ben Friedman said that while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concern about the lives of Palestinians in Gaza, Washington was not ready to “truly stand up to Israel.”

“In my opinion, they are at risk of withdrawal of support, including financial support, if they do not do what we have asked them to do,” Friedman, policy director at the Defense Priorities think tank, told Al Jazeera.

“You must threaten Israel with consequences if it does not comply with your demands. Otherwise, it’s just a kind of empty rhetoric meant to look critical without actually making a difference,” he added.

This week the USA again vetoed a third resolution in the UN Security Council They called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which met with widespread international opposition.