Live updates | Israeli bombings kill 48 Palestinians in Gaza, 1 Israeli killed in West Bank attack WSOC TV [Video]

At least 48 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern and central Gaza overnight, half of them women and children, the territory’s health officials said. European diplomats stepped up calls for a cease-fire on Thursday, with alarm rising over the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Tensions were also rising in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where three gunmen opened fire Thursday morning on the road near a checkpoint, killing one Israeli and wounding at least five, police said. Two of the attackers were killed and a third was found later and detained.

Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, said Thursday that Israel “will expand the authority” of its hostage negotiators, signaling a small sign of progress in ongoing international efforts to broker a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

But unless Hamas agrees to release the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, Israel will launch a ground offensive into the crowded southern city of Rafah during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan, said Benny …