Protests supporting Gaza take place in Europe

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday he welcomes "Hamas' positive statements" as well as the "significant efforts made by President Trump to end the war in the Gaza Strip and move toward lasting peace," according WAFA, the official news agency of the Palestinian Authority.

"We welcome these statements as they signal a willingness to release all hostages and adopt a constructive approach during this critical stage, which requires everyone to exercise the highest level of national responsibility," Abbas said, as quoted by WAFA.

"What matters to us now is an immediate commitment to a complete ceasefire, the release of all hostages and prisoners, the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid through U.N. organizations, ensuring the prevention of displacement or annexation and the commencement of the reconstruction process," Abbas said.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller, Samy Zyara and Morgan Winsor

Israeli forces killed 66 Palestinians and wounded 265 others in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health said Saturday afternoon.

That brings the Palestinian death toll in Gaza since the ongoing war began to 67,074, according to the health ministry.

Among those killed over the past day were six people trying to collect humanitarian aid, while another 40 were injured, the health ministry said.

Additionally, two children starved to death in the war-torn Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, according to the health ministry.

That brings the total number of starvation deaths in Gaza since the ongoing war began to 459, which includes 154 children, the health ministry said.

-ABC News' Diaa Ostaz, Samy Zyara and Morgan Winsor

World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Saturday expressed backing for the Gaza peace plan proposed by President Donald Trump, saying in a post to X, "The best medicine is peace."

"WHO welcomes the peace plan for Gaza proposed by the president of the United States and supported by other countries for an immediate end to the war, the release of all hostages, the resumption of humanitarian aid, reconstruction, including of hospitals, and peaceful and prosperous coexistence for Palestinians and Israelis," Ghebreyesus said.

Israeli bombardment and shelling continued in Gaza City on Saturday morning, though at a lower intensity than before Hamas expressed its willingness to release all hostages as part of President Donald Trump's proposed ceasefire plan.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces' Arabic language spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee issued a warning to Gaza residents, saying the area north of Wadi Gaza -- the centrally-located river valley that divides the northern and southern ends of the strip -- "is still considered a dangerous combat zone."

"IDF forces continue to surround Gaza City, and attempts to return there pose a significant risk," Avichay wrote in a post on X. "For your safety, avoid returning north or approaching IDF operations areas anywhere in the strip -- even in the south.

-ABC News' Diaa Ostaz, Samy Zyara and Morgan Winsor