Hospital officials in Gaza said on Friday that the death toll from Israeli strikes on the central parts of the territory the day before has risen from 16 to 25 as more bodies have been recovered.

The Palestinians killed in the series of strikes on central Gaza include five children and seven women, the officials said.

More than a year into a war that has ricocheted across the Middle East, Israeli troops are still battling Hamas in the most heavily destroyed and isolated part of the Gaza Strip.

In northern Gaza, Hamas militants carry out hit-and-run attacks from bombed-out buildings. Residents say Israeli forces have raided shelters for the displaced, forcing people out at gunpoint. First responders say they can barely operate because of the Israeli bombardment.

Israel’s Cabinet on Friday passed a budget for 2025 Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, ramping up defense spending amid the war in Gaza and Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.

The budget, which must still be approved by Israel’s parliament before taking effect, increased allotted defense spending to at least $27.2 billion, Israeli media reported, though that could increase to $40 billion pending further cabinet discussions.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three people were killed Thursday in Israeli strikes on Syria's Qusayr region near the border with Lebanon, where Israel said it hit Hezbollah weapons depots.

The Britain-based war monitor said three strikes targeted the town of Qusayr, where Hezbollah holds sway, and surrounding areas.

A senior Hamas official said Thursday that the group rejects any proposal for a temporary halt to more than a year of fighting in Gaza and insists on a lasting ceasefire.

Israeli police said Thursday they have arrested a couple accused of spying on Israeli intelligence sites and collecting information on an Israeli academic on behalf of Iran.

Israeli security services say they have uncovered several Iranian spy networks in recent months. The two archenemies have waged a long-running shadow war that has burst into the open since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. They exchanged fire directly for the first time in April and then again this month.

The United States and other mediators are ramping up efforts to halt the wars in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, circulating new proposals to wind down the regional conflict during the Biden administration's final months.

Negotiations on both fronts have been stalled for months and none of the warring parties have shown any sign of backing down from their demands.

France on Wednesday "firmly condemned" an Israeli strike in Gaza the previous day that rescuers said collapsed a building, killing at least 93 people including a large number of children.

"France firmly condemns the Israeli strike against a building in Beit Lahia in north Gaza on October 29 that killed almost 100 people, including women and children," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The leader of the U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northeast Syria in an interview with The Associated Press called for international mediators to continue pushing for diplomatic solutions to the complex web of conflicts in the Middle Eastern country, including the escalating Turkish bombardment of Kurdish areas.

Turkey has intensified its airstrikes in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria following an Oct. 23 attack on a defense company in Ankara that killed five people and wounded more than 20. Turkish airstrikes targeted dozens of sites believed to be linked to or affiliated with the Kurdistan's Workers' Party (PKK), which claimed responsibility for the attack.

Israeli legislation cutting ties with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees raised fears that the largest provider of aid to Gaza could be shut out of the war-ravaged territory, even as the implications of the new laws remained unclear Tuesday.

The agency known as UNRWA provides essential services to millions of Palestinians across the Middle East and has underpinned aid efforts in Gaza throughout the Israel-Hamas war. Legislation barring it from operating in Israel passed with an overwhelming majority Monday. Israel says UNRWA has allowed itself to be infiltrated by Hamas, with the militants siphoning off aid and using the agency's facilities as shields. UNRWA denies the allegations, saying it is committed to neutrality and acts quickly to address any wrongdoing by its staff.