Updates: Hamas-Israel ceasefire holds

Gaza's civil defence agency has said at least 16 people had died in the last 24 hours, including three children who died from exposure to the cold, as a winter storm batters the territory.

Heavy rain from Storm Byron has flooded tents and temporary shelters across the Gaza Strip since late Wednesday, compounding the suffering of the territory's residents, nearly all of whom were displaced during more than two years of war.

Gaza's civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, told AFP three children had died from exposure to the cold - two in Gaza City and one in Khan Yunis in the south.

Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed the deaths of Hadeel al-Masri, aged nine, and Taim al-Khawaja, who it said was just several months old.

Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis on Thursday said eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar had died in the nearby tented encampment of Al-Mawasi due to the cold.

The United States Central Command will host a conference in Doha on December 16 with partner nations to plan the International Stabilisation Force for Gaza, two US officials told Reuters on Friday.

More than 25 countries are expected to send representatives to the conference, which will include sessions on the command structure and other issues related to the Gaza force, the officials said.

The Palestinian Ministry of Interior and National Security said that Storm Byron claimed at least 14 lives in Gaza, including women and children, Al Jazeera reported.

The storm unleashed heavy rainfall and winds on the Palestinian enclave, leaving several buildings collapsed and infrastructure damaged.

Gaza’s Ministry of Interior and National Security said that response teams have fielded over 4,300 emergency calls from residents throughout the enclave since the storm began, Al Jazeera reported.

In the past few hours, the ministry said at least 12 previously shelled buildings have collapsed because of powerful winds and heavy rainfall.

The ministry said its police forces were helping civil defence and municipal teams conduct rescue operations despite limited resources. Several people were missing, and authorities believe they may be trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings or remain unaccounted for.

“What is happening now demands immediate, concrete action from all stakeholders,” the statement said, urging the international community to take decisive steps to intervene and pressure Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza without delay.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says the Trump administration is conducting "a lot of quiet planning" as it works to push Israel and Hamas toward phase two of the US president's Gaza roadmap.

Leavitt said Washington would make announcements “at the appropriate time” on several elements of Trump's plan. The plan includes the establishment of an international stabilisation force that will be deployed to the enclave and the so-called "board of peace".

Expected to be chaired by Trump himself, the "board of peace" is an international body that the US government says will oversee the administration of Gaza as Hamas hands over control of the territory, Al Jazeera reported.

The Financial Times reported this week that the UK's former prime minister, Tony Blair, was dropped from consideration for a role on the board amid widespread condemnation of his possible involvement.

US Central Command, which oversees US military activities in the Middle East, has said that more than 30,000 humanitarian aid trucks have entered Gaza since a US-backed ceasefire came into effect, Al Jazeera reported.

Humanitarian organisations, however, have said that Israel is allowing far less aid into the Strip than was agreed to in the deal and that humanitarian assistance levels remain deeply inadequate.