Homes and camps in Gaza City are being hit by deadly Israeli airstrikes as ceasefire talks continue
U.S. and Arab mediators are working around the clock to hammer out a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, sources close to the talks said, while medics in the Gaza Strip said Israeli strikes killed 41 Palestinians on Thursday.
Mediators are trying to forge a deal in talks in Egypt and Qatar to break the 14-month war in the Hamas-ruled enclave. This includes the release of the hostages confiscated from Israel on October 7, 2023. Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The mediators managed to close some gaps in previous points of contention, but differences remained, the sources said.
In Gaza, medics said at least 13 Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes overnight, including on two houses in Gaza City and a central camp.
Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed nine people near the Beach refugee camp in Gaza City, while another killed four others at a housing project near Beit Lahiya in the north.
Later on Thursday, airstrikes killed at least 15 Palestinians in two shelters housing displaced families in the Tuffah suburb east of Gaza City, medics said, raising Thursday’s death toll to 41. There was no comment from the Israeli military.
Residents of Jabalia in northern Gaza, where the Israeli army has been operating since October, said forces had blown up groups of houses overnight.
“The longer these talks last, the more destruction and death there will be in Gaza. Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya are wiped out. Rafah too,” said Adel, 60, a resident of Jabalia who is now displaced in Gaza city.
Signs of ethnic cleansing, aid group points to Israel
A report released Thursday by Doctors Without Borders said there were clear signs of ethnic cleansing in the Israeli offensive, with Palestinians being forcibly displaced and bombed.
“The signs of ethnic cleansing and ongoing devastation – including mass killings, severe physical and mental injuries, forced displacement and impossible living conditions for Palestinians under siege and bombing – are undeniable,” the aid group’s head, Christopher Lockyear, said in the report.
“Palestinians have been killed in their homes and in hospital beds… People cannot find even the most basic necessities such as food, clean water, medicine and soap amid a punishing siege and blockade,” Doctors Without Borders said.
There was no immediate Israeli comment on the MSF report, but Israel has previously denied carrying out ethnic cleansing and said its campaign aims to wipe out Hamas and prevent it from regrouping.
Israel accuses the militant group of exploiting civilian infrastructure and the population as a human shield. Hamas denies this.
Talks about a ceasefire are ongoing
Sources close to the mediation effort said Hamas had pushed for a one-package deal but Israel wanted a phased deal. The talks are focused on a first phase of releasing hostages, dead or alive, as well as a number of Palestinians detained by Israel.
On Tuesday, the sides discussed the number and categories of people to be released, but the matter has not yet been finalized, said a source who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
The source said one issue was Israel’s demand to retain the right to act against any potential military threat from Gaza and the deployment of Israeli forces during phases of the deal.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Israel will have security control over Gaza after defeating Hamas.
Talks to negotiate a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas have resumed in Cairo, and sources close to the negotiations say an agreement could be signed in the coming days. Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip hope this round of talks will lead to an end to the war so that life can resume.
Israel began its air and ground assault on Gaza after Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and bringing over 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israel.
Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are still alive.
The Israeli campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the 2.3 million residents and reduced much of the coastal enclave to rubble.
On Thursday, said Human Rights Watch Israel had killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza by denying them clean water, which it said legally amounted to genocide and extermination.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused the human rights group of lying, saying Israel had allowed the continuous flow of water and humanitarian aid to Gaza since the start of the war, despite constant Hamas attacks.
