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CAIRO – Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 61 people in the space of 24 hours, as Israeli forces battled Hamas-led militants in the territory. Eleven months into the war, numerous rounds of diplomacy have so far failed to clinch a ceasefire deal to end the conflict and bring the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza, as well as many Palestinians jailed in Israel. An Israeli air strike on the Halima al-Sa’diyya school compound serving as a shelter for displaced people in the Jabalia urban refugee camp killed at least eight people and wounded 15 others, medics said. The Israeli military said the strike targeted a Hamas command centre inside the compound. It accused Hamas of repeatedly exploiting civilians and civilian infrastructure for military purposes, an allegation Hamas denies. Five more people were killed in a strike on a house in Gaza City. The armed wings of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah groups said they fought Israeli troops in Gaza City, in central areas and in the south with anti-tank rockets and mortars, and in some incidents detonated bombs to target tanks and other army vehicles. The two warring sides continued to blame one another for the failure of mediators, including Qatar, Egypt and the US, to broker a ceasefire. The US is preparing to present a new proposal, but the prospects of a breakthrough appear dim as gaps between the sides remain large. Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns, the chief US negotiator, told an event in London that a more detailed proposal would be made in the coming days. On Sept 5, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was , which ran Gaza before the war and was responsible for the Oct 7 killing spree in Israel that triggered it, to make concessions to reach a deal. On Sept 7, senior Hamas official Hossam Badran said the group has made no new demands and remained committed to a July 2 proposal put forward by the US, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attaching new conditions that would not end the war. Mr Netanyahu says it was Hamas that . Despite the deadlock, the UN, in collaboration with local health authorities, has pursued a campaign to vaccinate 640,000 children in Gaza after its first polio case in around 25 years. Limited pauses in the fighting have allowed the campaign to proceed. UN officials said they were making progress, having reached more than half of the children needing the drops in the first two stages in southern and central Gaza. On Sept 8, the campaign will move to northern Gaza. A second round of vaccination will be required four weeks after the first. REUTERS