Violence rages in occupied Palestinian territories

Israel announced Sunday its troops had found six dead hostages in a Gaza tunnel, as Israeli police said a "shooting attack" in the occupied West Bank killed three officers.

The deadly shooting near Hebron added to surging violence in the West Bank, where Israel has since Wednesday carried out a large-scale military operation that has sparked international concern.

In the besieged Gaza Strip, "humanitarian pauses" in the nearly 11-month war between Israel and Hamas were set to take place to facilitate a massive polio vaccination drive which a health official said had begun.

Israel's military said the remains of six hostages were recovered Saturday "from an underground tunnel in the Rafah area" in southern Gaza and formally identified in Israel.

US President Joe Biden said he was "devastated and outraged" by their deaths, but told reporters he was "still optimistic" a Gaza truce and hostage release deal can be reached.

"It's time this war ended," said Biden, whose administration has been involved in ceasefire mediation efforts along with Qatar and Egypt.

Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said a negotiated "deal for the return of the hostages" was urgently needed.

Critics in Israel have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political gain.

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu do more to bring the remaining hostages home from Gaza.

Amid public anger over the fate of the hostages, the head of Israel's trades union federation, Arnon Bar-David, called for a general strike today to pressure the government into signing a deal, and said Ben Gurion airport, Israel's main air transport hub, would be closed from 8 am.

"A deal is more important than anything else," he said. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who has clashed frequently with Netanyahu, also called for a deal and opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid urged people to join the demonstration in Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu, who faces growing calls to end nearly 11 months of war between Israel and Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in Gaza with a deal that includes a ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages, said Israel would not rest until it caught those responsible.

Senior Hamas officials said that Israel, in its refusal to sign a ceasefire agreement, was to blame for the deaths.

Israel's offensive since October 7 has killed at least 40,738 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

Gaza health officials said an Israeli air strike targeting a group of policemen in a school sheltering displaced Palestinians killed at least 11 people Sunday.

After the first confirmed polio case in 25 years, a Gaza health official said vaccinations began Saturday ahead of a wider campaign.

On Sunday, it was formally launched at three health centres in central Gaza.

Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters were battling in the West Bank Sunday, five days into major coordinated raids.

A "shooting attack" near Tarqumiya checkpoint in the Hebron area in the southern West Bank killed three members of the police force.

At least 22 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military since the start on Wednesday of simultaneous raids across the northern West Bank.