Gaza reports 43 dead as truce talks deadlocked
On the ground, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said at least 43 people were killed in the latest Israeli strikes, including 11 when a market in Gaza City was hit. Elsewhere, eight children were among the 10 victims of a drone strike at a water point in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, Bassal said. Israel's military blamed a technical problem for that strike, saying it had been targeting a member of Hamas ally Islamic Jihad. "As a result of a technical error with the munition, the munition fell dozens of meters from the target," a statement read. "The incident is under review."
Reports of casualties were being examined, it added. Khaled Rayyan said that he was woken by the sound of two large explosions after a house was hit in Nuseirat. "Our neighbour and his children were under the rubble," he said. Another resident, Mahmud Al Shami, called on the negotiators to secure an end to the war. "What happened to us has never happened in the entire history of humanity," he said. "Enough." Gaza's health ministry says that at least 58,026 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign. The UN considers those figures reliable. UN agencies on Saturday warned that fuel shortages had reached "critical levels", threatening to worsen conditions for Gaza's more than two million people.
Talks to seal a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release were in the balance on Saturday after Israel and Hamas accused each other of trying to block a deal. Hamas wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but a Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks said Israel had presented plans to maintain troops in more than 40 per cent of the territory.
The source said Israel wanted to force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into the south of Gaza "in preparation for forcibly displacing them to Egypt or other countries". A senior Israeli official said Israel had demonstrated an openness "to flexibility in the negotiations, while Hamas remains intransigent, clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement".
Meanwhile, a Gaza-bound boat carrying pro-Palestinian activists and humanitarian aid left Sicily on Sunday, over a month after Israel detained and deported people aboard a previous vessel. The Handala, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left the port of Syracuse shortly after 12:00 pm, a journalist saw, carrying about fifteen activists. Several dozen people, some holding Palestinian flags and others wearing keffiyeh scarves, gathered at the port to cheer the boat's departure with cries of "Free Palestine". The former Norwegian trawler — loaded with medical supplies, food, children's equipment and medicine -- will sail for about a week in the Mediterranean, covering roughly 1,800 kilometres, in the hope of reaching Gaza's coast.
In early March, Israel imposed a total aid blockade on Gaza amid an impasse in truce negotiations, only partially easing restrictions in late May. The boat will make a stop at Gallipoli, in southeastern Italy, where two members of the hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI) are expected to join. The initiative comes six weeks after the departure of the Madleen, another ship that left Italy for Gaza transporting aid and activists, including Greta Thunberg. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
3 hours ago
- Observer
Gaza truce talks limp on but US hopes for deal
GAZA: Stuttering Gaza ceasefire talks between Israel and Palestinian Hamas entered a second week on Monday, with US President Donald Trump still hopeful of a breakthrough and as more than 20 people were killed on the ground. The indirect negotiations in the Qatari capital, Doha, appeared deadlocked at the weekend after both sides blamed the other for blocking a deal for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of hostages. In Gaza, the Palestinian territory's civil defence agency said at least 22 people were killed in the latest Israeli strikes on Monday in and around Gaza City, and Khan Yunis in the south. One strike on a tent in Khan Yunis killed the parents and three brothers of a young Gazan boy, who only survived as he was outside getting water, the boy's uncle said. Belal al Adlouni called for revenge for "every drop of blood" saying it "will not be forgotten and will not die with the passage of time, nor with displacement or with death". Reporters in southern Israel meanwhile saw large plumes of smoke in northern Gaza, where the military said fighter jets had pounded Hamas targets over the weekend. Trump, who met Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington last week, is keen to secure a truce in the 21-month war, which was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. "Gaza — we are talking and hopefully we're going to get that straightened out over the next week," he told reporters late on Sunday, echoing similarly optimistic comments he made on July 4. A Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks said on Saturday that Hamas rejected Israeli proposals to keep troops in over 40 per cent of Gaza and plans to move Palestinians into an enclave on the border with Egypt. In response, a senior Israeli political official accused Hamas of inflexibility and trying to deliberately scupper the talks by "clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement". Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and the Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahin headed to Brussels on Monday for talks between the EU and its Mediterranean neighbours. But the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority denied media reports that any meeting between the two was on the agenda. In Israel, Netanyahu has said he would be ready to enter talks for a more lasting ceasefire when a deal for a temporary truce is agreed and only when Hamas lays down its weapons. But he is under pressure to quickly wrap up the war, with military casualties mounting and with public frustration both at the continued captivity of the hostages and a perceived lack of progress in the conflict. Politically, his fragile governing coalition is holding, for now, but Netanyahu is seen as beholden to a minority of far-right ministers in prolonging an increasingly unpopular conflict. He also faces a backlash over the feasibility and ethics of a plan to build a so-called "humanitarian city" from scratch in southern Gaza to house displaced Palestinians if and when a ceasefire takes hold. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has described the proposed facility as a "concentration camp" and Israel's own security establishment is reported to be unhappy at the plan. Israeli media said the costs were discussed at a security cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office on Sunday night, just hours before his latest court appearance in a long-running corruption trial on Monday. Hamas's attacks on Israel in 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, based on official figures. A total of 251 hostages were taken that day, of which 49 are still being held, including 27 that the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's military reprisals have killed 58,026 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Gaza. — AFP
Observer
3 hours ago
- Observer
Mediators toil to wrap up Gaza talks
GAZA CITY: Stuttering Gaza ceasefire talks entered a second week on Monday, with meditators seeking to close the gap between Israel and Hamas, as more than 20 people were killed across the Palestinian territory. The indirect negotiations in Qatar appear deadlocked after both sides blamed the other for blocking a deal for the release of hostages and a 60-day ceasefire after 21 months of fighting. An official with knowledge of the talks said they were "ongoing" in Doha on Monday, saying: "Discussions are currently focused on the proposed maps for the deployment of Israeli forces within Gaza." "Mediators are actively exploring innovative mechanisms to bridge the remaining gaps and maintain momentum in the negotiations," the source added on condition of anonymity. Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who wants to see the Palestinian militant group destroyed as a fighting force — of being the main obstacle. "Netanyahu is skilled at sabotaging one round of negotiations after another, and is unwilling to reach any agreement," the group wrote on Telegram. In Gaza, the civil defence agency said at least 22 people were killed on Monday in the latest Israeli strikes in and around Gaza City and in Khan Yunis in the south. An Israeli military statement said troops had destroyed "buildings and terrorist infrastructure" used by Hamas in Gaza City's Shujaiya and Zeitun areas. The Al Quds Brigades — has fought alongside Hamas — released footage on Monday that it said showed its fighters firing missiles at an Israeli army command and control centre near Shujaiya. US President Donald Trump said he was still hopeful of securing a truce deal, telling reporters on Sunday night: "We are talking and hopefully we're going to get that straightened out over the next week." Hamas's top negotiator, Khalil al Hayya, and the leadership of Hamas held a "consultative meeting" in Doha on Sunday evening to "coordinate visions and positions", a Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks said. "Egyptian, Qatari and American mediators continue their efforts that make Israel present a modified withdrawal map that would be acceptable," they added. On Saturday, the same source said Hamas rejected Israeli proposals to keep troops in more than 40 per cent of Gaza, as well as plans to move Palestinians into an enclave on the border with Egypt. A senior Israeli political official countered by accusing Hamas of inflexibility and trying to deliberately scupper the talks by "clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement". — AFP
Observer
a day ago
- Observer
Gaza reports 43 dead as truce talks deadlocked
GAZA: Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed more than 40 Palestinians, including at a market and a water distribution point, as talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stalled. Delegations from Israel and the Palestinian militant group have now spent a week trying to agree on a temporary truce to halt 21 months of devastating fighting in the Gaza Strip. But on Saturday, each side accused the other of blocking attempts to secure an agreement at the indirect talks in the Qatari capital, Doha. On the ground, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said at least 43 people were killed in the latest Israeli strikes, including 11 when a market in Gaza City was hit. Elsewhere, eight children were among the 10 victims of a drone strike at a water point in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, Bassal said. Israel's military blamed a technical problem for that strike, saying it had been targeting a member of Hamas ally Islamic Jihad. "As a result of a technical error with the munition, the munition fell dozens of meters from the target," a statement read. "The incident is under review." Reports of casualties were being examined, it added. Khaled Rayyan said that he was woken by the sound of two large explosions after a house was hit in Nuseirat. "Our neighbour and his children were under the rubble," he said. Another resident, Mahmud Al Shami, called on the negotiators to secure an end to the war. "What happened to us has never happened in the entire history of humanity," he said. "Enough." Gaza's health ministry says that at least 58,026 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign. The UN considers those figures reliable. UN agencies on Saturday warned that fuel shortages had reached "critical levels", threatening to worsen conditions for Gaza's more than two million people. Talks to seal a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release were in the balance on Saturday after Israel and Hamas accused each other of trying to block a deal. Hamas wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but a Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks said Israel had presented plans to maintain troops in more than 40 per cent of the territory. The source said Israel wanted to force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into the south of Gaza "in preparation for forcibly displacing them to Egypt or other countries". A senior Israeli official said Israel had demonstrated an openness "to flexibility in the negotiations, while Hamas remains intransigent, clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement". Meanwhile, a Gaza-bound boat carrying pro-Palestinian activists and humanitarian aid left Sicily on Sunday, over a month after Israel detained and deported people aboard a previous vessel. The Handala, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left the port of Syracuse shortly after 12:00 pm, a journalist saw, carrying about fifteen activists. Several dozen people, some holding Palestinian flags and others wearing keffiyeh scarves, gathered at the port to cheer the boat's departure with cries of "Free Palestine". The former Norwegian trawler — loaded with medical supplies, food, children's equipment and medicine -- will sail for about a week in the Mediterranean, covering roughly 1,800 kilometres, in the hope of reaching Gaza's coast. In early March, Israel imposed a total aid blockade on Gaza amid an impasse in truce negotiations, only partially easing restrictions in late May. The boat will make a stop at Gallipoli, in southeastern Italy, where two members of the hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI) are expected to join. The initiative comes six weeks after the departure of the Madleen, another ship that left Italy for Gaza transporting aid and activists, including Greta Thunberg. — AFP
