JERUSALEM: US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that 鈥済reat progress鈥� was being made to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza as a new ceasefire push began more than 20 months since the start of the conflict.

鈥淚 think great progress is being made on Gaza,鈥� Trump told reporters ahead of a NATO summit in the Netherlands, adding that his special envoy Steve Witkoff had told him 鈥淕aza is very close.鈥�

He linked his optimism about imminent 鈥渧ery good news鈥� for the Gaza Strip to a ceasefire agreed on Tuesday between Israel and Hamas backer Iran to end their 12-day war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also suggested that Israel鈥檚 blitz of Iran鈥檚 nuclear and missile facilities, as well as its security forces linked to overseas militant groups, could help end the Gaza conflict.

Netanyahu faces growing calls from opposition politicians, relatives of hostages being held in Gaza and even members of his ruling coalition to bring an end to the fighting, triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas鈥檚 October 7, 2023 attack.

In one of the war鈥檚 deadliest incidents for the Israeli army, it said seven of its soldiers were killed on Tuesday in southern Gaza.

Key mediator Qatar announced Tuesday that it would launch a new push for a ceasefire, with Hamas on Wednesday saying talks had 鈥渋ntensified.鈥�

鈥淥ur communications with the brother mediators in Egypt and Qatar have not stopped and have intensified in recent hours,鈥� Hamas official Taher Al-Nunu told AFP.

He cautioned, however, that the group had 鈥渘ot yet received any new proposals鈥� to end the war.

The Israeli government declined to comment on any new ceasefire talks beyond saying that efforts to return Israeli hostages in Gaza were ongoing 鈥渙n the battlefield and via negotiations.鈥�

Israel sent forces into Gaza to root out Iran-linked Hamas and rescue hostages after the Hamas attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel鈥檚 military campaign has killed at least 56,156 people, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The United Nations considers its figures reliable.

The latest Israeli military losses led to rare criticism of the war effort by the leader of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, a partner in Netanyahu鈥檚 coalition government.

鈥淚 still don鈥檛 understand why we are fighting there... Soldiers are getting killed all the time,鈥� lawmaker Moshe Gafni told a hearing in the Israeli parliament on Wednesday.

The slain soldiers were from the Israeli combat engineering corps and were conducting a reconnaissance mission in the Khan Yunis area in southern Gaza when their vehicle was targeted with an explosive device, according to a military statement.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main group representing relatives of those held in Gaza, endorsed Gafni鈥檚 criticism of the war.

鈥淥n this difficult morning, Gafni tells it like it is... The war in Gaza has run its course, it is being conducted with no clear purpose and no concrete plan,鈥� the group said in a statement.

Of the 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the Hamas attack, 49 are still held in Gaza including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Rights groups say Gaza and its population of more than two million face famine-like conditions due to Israeli restrictions, with near-daily deaths of people queuing for food aid.

Gaza鈥檚 civil defense agency said Wednesday that Israeli fire killed at least another 20 people, including six who were waiting for aid.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that a crowd of aid-seekers was hit by Israeli 鈥渂ullets and tank shells鈥� in an area of central Gaza where Palestinians have gathered each night in the hope of collecting rations.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was 鈥渘ot aware of any incident this morning with casualties in the central Gaza Strip.鈥�

The United Nations on Tuesday condemned the 鈥渨eaponization of food鈥� in Gaza and slammed a US- and Israeli-backed foundation that has largely replaced established humanitarian organizations there.

The privately run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was brought into the Palestinian territory at the end of May but its operations have been marred by chaotic scenes, deaths and neutrality concerns.

The GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points.

The Gaza health ministry says that since late May, nearly 550 people have been killed near aid centers while seeking scarce supplies.

The civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed 46 people waiting for aid on Tuesday.