Israel said it had scaled up a ground offensive in northern Gaza as part of an operation to extend so-called "security zones" that provide a protective buffer along the border with Israel.

A 22-year-old Palestinian man was tortured and killed by Hamas militants after he criticized the group publicly and participated in rare anti-Hamas protests in Gaza, his family said.

The Israeli military has intensified strikes on parts of Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that the country’s forces would be “switching gears” in the territory, dividing and seizing more parts of the strip.

A Palestinian protester opposed to Hamas' rule over the Gaza Strip was beaten and tortured to death following a demonstration last week, according to reports.

Hamas decided not to respond or engage with Israel's counter-proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, an official told Reuters on Wednesday, affirming it is committed to the mediators' plan instead. Israel said on March 29 it conveyed to the mediators a counter-proposal in full coordination with the U.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the pressure on Gaza would increase until the remaining hostages were returned to Israel. “The more they do not give (back the hostages), the more the pressure will increase until they do,” vowed the Israeli Prime Minster in a video statement released on Wednesday.

The Hamas militant group said Saturday it has accepted a new Gaza ceasefire proposal from mediators Egypt and Qatar, but Israel said it has made a counter-proposal in "full coordination" with the third mediator, the United States.

The aid workers and their ambulances were found Monday in a hastily dug grave, which was apparently plowed over by bulldozers, the UN said.