Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu defiantly ramps up the war in Gaza, despite mounting pressure from Trump and castigation by France's president.

Israeli military strikes killed at least 70 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, local health authorities said, in an intensification of the bombardment as U.S. President Donald Trump visits the Middle East.

At least 15 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced people.

The announcement of the first hostage release since Israel shattered a ceasefire in March comes shortly before Trump visits the Middle East this week.