Israel airstrikes kill at least 100 in Gaza as negotiators seek ceasefire
Nidal al-Mughrabi
Reuters
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 100 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip overnight, local health authorities said on May 18, as mediators hosted a new round of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has expanded its strikes on the enclave, killing hundreds of people since Thursday, in preparation for a new ground offensive to achieve "operational control" in parts of Gaza.
"We have at least 100 martyrs since overnight. Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by Israeli bombardment," Khalil Al-Deqran, Gaza health ministry spokesperson, told Reuters by phone.
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.
Hamas says it will only free the hostages in return for an Israeli ceasefire.
Mediators Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, began a new round of indirect ceasefire talks between the two sides on Saturday, but sources close to the negotiations told Reuters there had been no breakthrough.
Britain's Sky News Arabica and the BBC both reported overnight that Hamas had proposed releasing about half its Israeli hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Potentially complicating the ceasefire talks further, reports in Israeli and Arab media said Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar may have been killed.
Hamas neither confirmed nor denied the reports. Israel's Defence Ministry had no immediate comment.
In Israel, Einav Zangauker, the mother of Hamas hostage Matan Zangauker, said Prime Minister Benjamin 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.
Hamas described the strike as a "new brutal crime" and blamed the U.S. administration for the escalation.
Among the dozens killed earlier on May 18 were five journalists, some with their families.
Zakaria Al-Sinwar, the brother of the Hamas leader, and three of his children were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their tent in central Gaza, medics said. He was a history lecturer at a Gaza university.
Both men are the brothers of former Hamas chief Yehya Al-Sinwar, who was killed by Israel last October.
Gaza's healthcare 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, for which Israel blames Hamas.
"Hospitals are overwhelmed with a growing number of casualties, many are children," Deqran said.
Later on May 18, 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.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Staff at Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest, urged people to donate blood because of the overwhelming number of casualties. Hospital officials said they received 40 dead and dozens of wounded overnight because of the continued Israeli strikes.
The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said 75% of its ambulances had stopped operating because of fuel shortages amid Israel's ban on imports. It warned that unless fuel is allowed back 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.
(Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and May Angel; Editing by Sandra Maler, Philippa Fletcher and Helen Popper)
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