U.S. President Donald Trump voiced optimism Friday about a new ceasefire in Gaza, as criticism grew over mounting civilian deaths at Israeli-backed food distribution centers in the territory.

Iran began a state funeral service Saturday for around 60 people, including its military commanders, killed in its war with Israel, after Tehran's top diplomat condemned Donald Trump's comments on supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as "unacceptable".

President Donald Trump's call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial to be thrown out has plunged the American leader into one of Israel's most heated debates, unnerving some in its political class just days after they unanimously praised his strikes on Iran.

Trump's social media post condemning the trial as a "WITCH HUNT," and his vow that the United States will be the one who "saves" Netanyahu from serious corruption charges, came just two days after he called off an Israeli bombing raid in Iran to preserve a ceasefire.

Iran will hold what it described as "historic" funeral proceedings in Tehran on Saturday for 60 killed in its 12-day war with Israel, including top military commanders and nuclear scientists.

The commemorations will begin at 0800 local time (0430 GMT) at Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran, followed by a funeral procession to Azadi (Freedom) Square, about 11 kilometers (7 miles) away.

An Israeli court on Friday rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request to postpone his testimony in his corruption trial, after US President Donald Trump said the case should be cancelled.

The Jerusalem district court said in a judgement published online that "in its current form (his request) does not provide a basis or detailed justification for the cancellation of the hearings".

An Israeli strike hit a street in central Gaza on Thursday where witnesses said a crowd of people was getting bags of flour from a Palestinian police unit that had confiscated the goods from gangs looting aid convoys. Hospital officials said 18 people were killed.

The strike was the latest violence surrounding the distribution of food to Gaza's population, which has been thrown into turmoil over the past month. After blocking all food for 2 1/2 months, Israel has allowed only a trickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May.

The heads of the European Union's 27 member nations will meet Thursday in Brussels to discuss tougher sanctions on Russia, ways to prevent painful new U.S. tariffs, and how to make their voices heard in the Middle East conflicts.

Most of the leaders will arrive from a brief but intense NATO summit where they pledged a big boost in defense spending, and papered over some of their differences with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Trump administration has authorized providing $30 million to a U.S.- and Israeli-backed group that is distributing food in Gaza, a U.S. official said Tuesday, an operation that has drawn criticism from other humanitarian organizations.

The request is the first known U.S. government funding for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's aid distribution efforts amid the Israel-Hamas war. The American-led group had applied for the money to the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has been dismantled and will soon be absorbed into the State Department as part of the Trump administration's deep cuts of foreign aid.

U.S. President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that U.S. strikes delivered a crushing blow to Iran's nuclear program despite a preliminary American intelligence assessment suggesting that the assault inflicted only a marginal setback.

"This was a devastating attack, and it knocked them for a loop," Trump said as his administration deployed a phalanx of top officials to defend his claims that Iran's nuclear program was "completely and fully obliterated."

Iran's nuclear facilities were "badly damaged" in U.S. and Israeli strikes during the 12-day war with Israel, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told Al Jazeera English on Wednesday.