Israel strikes kill at least 130 in Gaza, negotiators seek ceasefire

CAIRO/JERUSALEM: Israeli strikes killed at least 130 Palestinians across Gaza overnight, health officials said on Sunday, as Israel said talks with Hamas included a proposal to end the war but sources on both sides said there had been no progress in the talks.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the latest indirect talks in Doha included discussions on a truce and hostage deal as well as a proposal to end the war in return for the exile of Hamas militants and the demilitarization of the enclave, terms Hamas has previously rejected.

The substance of the statement was in line with previous declarations from Israel, but the timing, as negotiators meet, offered some prospect of flexibility in Israel’s position. A senior Israeli official said there had been no progress in the talks so far.

A Hamas official told Reuters: “Israel’s position remains unchanged, they want to release the prisoners (hostages) without a commitment to end the war.”

He reiterated that Hamas was proposing releasing all Israeli hostages in return for an end to the war, the pull-out of Israeli troops, an end to a blockade on aid for Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

The overnight airstrikes on Gaza hit as Israel prepares for a new ground offensive aimed at achieving “operational control” in parts of Gaza.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 464 Palestinians were killed in the week to Sunday as a result of Israel’s escalated bombardment. The deaths of at least 130 Palestinians overnight are in addition to that figure.

“Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by (overnight) Israeli bombardment,” Khalil Al-Deqran, Gaza health ministry spokesperson, told Reuters by phone.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the casualties.

Israel has blocked the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies into Gaza since the start of March to try to pressure Hamas into freeing Israeli hostages and has approved plans that could involve seizing the entire Gaza strip and controlling aid.

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“Hospitals overwhelmed”

Reports in Israeli and Arab media that Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar may have been killed could potentially complicate the Doha talks, which began on Saturday.

Hamas neither confirmed nor denied the reports. Israel’s Defense Ministry had no immediate comment.

Gaza medics said contrary to earlier reports Zakaria Al-Sinwar, a history lecturer at a Gaza university and the brother of Hamas’ leader, was alive but in critical condition.

He was placed in the morgue earlier with his three children, before medics realized he was still breathing and moved him to an intensive care unit.

“Hospitals are overwhelmed with a growing number of casualties, many are children,” health ministry spokesman Deqran said.

In Israel, Einav Zangauker, the mother of Hamas hostage Matan Zangauker, said Netanyahu was refusing to end the war in exchange for Hamas releasing the remaining hostages because of his political interests.

“The Israeli government still insists on only partial deals. They are deliberately tormenting us. Bring our children back already! All 58 of them,” Zangauker said in a post on the X social media platform.

Tents ablaze

One of Israel’s overnight strikes hit a tent encampment housing displaced families in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing women and children, wounding dozens and setting several tents ablaze.

Later on Sunday, the Gaza Health Ministry said the Indonesian Hospital, one of the largest partially functioning medical facilities in north Gaza, had ceased operating because of Israeli fire near and at the vicinity.

Israel’s military said its troops were operating against “terrorist infrastructure sites” in northern Gaza, including in the area adjacent to the Indonesian hospital.

Gaza’s health care system is barely operational because of repeated Israeli bombardment and raids on hospitals. The blockade on aid supplies has compounded its difficulties, and worsened widespread hunger. Israel blames Hamas for stealing aid, which Hamas denies.

Staff at Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest, urged people to donate blood. Hospital officials said they received 40 dead and dozens of wounded overnight because of continued Israeli strikes.

The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said 75 percent of its ambulances had stopped operating because of fuel shortages. It warned that unless fuel is allowed in within 72 hours, all vehicles may stop.

Israel’s declared goal in Gaza is the elimination of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, which attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages.

The Israeli military campaign has devastated the enclave, pushing nearly all residents from their homes and killing more than 53,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel strikes kill at least 130 in Gaza, negotiators seek ceasefire

ARAB NEWS