Middle East latest: Blinken in Doha to discuss Gaza cease-fire with Qatari officials

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Doha on Thursday to meet with Qatari officials who have been key mediators for Hamas, as the U.S. struggles to break the logjam of cease-fire negotiations between Israel and the militant group.

Blinken is on his 11th trip to the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

In Gaza, Palestinian officials said an Israeli strike on a school where displaced people were sheltering killed at least 17 people on Thursday, mostly women and children.

An additional 42 people were wounded in the strike in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. Among the dead were seven children as young as 11 months, as well as three women. The Israeli military said it targeted Hamas militants inside the school, without providing evidence.