The Israeli military says it has launched the first stages of a new major offensive in Gaza, in a development that comes on the same day that US President Donald Trump concluded his visit to the region without securing a ceasefire deal.

The withering Israeli aerial campaign appeared to presage the ground operation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to launch if no ceasefire and hostage deal were struck by the time Trump returned to the U.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel launched dozens of airstrikes across northern and southern Gaza on Friday, killing more than 93 people and wounding hundreds — attacks that Israeli officials described as a prelude to a larger military campaign in the territory aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages.