Israeli military strikes across Gaza killed at least 22 people yesterday, Palestinian medics said, as international mediators pursued efforts to seal a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.
An air strike killed at least 10 people in a multi-storey house in the Shaikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City, while another killed five in the nearby Zeitoun suburb, medics said.
In Deir Al Balah city in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering, and in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps, a total of seven people were killed, they said.
Israel’s military said it struck Hamas militants operating in a school in Jabalia, and that it took steps to minimise risk to civilians.
Such mass casualties are a daily occurrence in Gaza, where more than 46,000 Palestinians have now been killed in Israel’s 15-month-long assault against Hamas, according to health officials in the enclave.
As Israel continued its bombardments, the US, Qatar and Egypt were making intensive efforts to reach a ceasefire deal, with one source close to the talks saying this was the most serious attempt to reach a deal so far.
The outgoing US administration has called for a final push for a deal before President Joe Biden leaves office, and many in the region view president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20 as an unofficial deadline.
“Things are better than ever before, but there is no deal yet,” the source said.
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said overnight he hopes to have good things to report about Israeli hostages held by the time Trump is sworn in as president. A deal would also involve the release of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
The Gaza Health Ministry meanwhile warned that Nasser Hospital and the Gaza European Hospital might stop operations in a few hours unless the Israelis stop restricting the flow of fuel to the hospitals.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said yesterday heavy rains and flooding had left families living in damaged tents with up to 30cm of water in them, “clinging on to survival without even the most basic necessities, such as blankets”.
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