The Israeli military said Saturday it had launched "extensive strikes" in the Gaza Strip over the past day as part of the "initial stages" of a fresh offensive on the besieged Palestinian territory.

The strikes were part of "the expansion of the battle in the Gaza Strip, with the goal of achieving all the war's objectives, including the release of the abducted and the defeat of Hamas", Israel's army said in a statement in Arabic on Telegram.

Gaza's civil defence agency earlier said Israeli strikes on Gaza had killed 100 people on Friday.

The offensive, known as "Operation Gideon's Chariots", comes as Israel faces pressure to lift a sweeping aid blockade in return for a US-Israeli hostage released by Hamas.

Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza on March 18 after a two-month truce in its war against Hamas, which was triggered by an attack by the Palestinian group in October 2023.

That assault resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said 2,985 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,119.

Israeli media reported on Friday that the military had stepped up its offensive in line with a plan approved by the government earlier this month, though there had not been any formal announcement of an expanded campaign.

The military said its forces had "struck over 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip" in 24 hours. 

At least 34 people, including two babies were killed when a contraband fuel depot exploded into flames in southern Benin near the border with Nigeria on Saturday.

According to Beninese Interior Minister Alassane Seidou, “a serious fire occurred in the town of Seme Podji. Another 20 people were seriously wounded in the incident.”

"I can't really give you the cause of the fire, but there is a large gasoline warehouse here and cars, tricycles and motorcycles come from morning to evening,” he added.

Nigeria is a main oil and gas producer where fuel smuggling is very common along its borders, particularly when the government maintains a subsidy to keep fuel prices low.

The majority of the victims were burnt and they could not be not be identified.

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