Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 93 Palestinians, health officials say
One of the deadliest strikes hit a house in Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa district on Monday evening and killed 19 members of the family living inside, according to Shifa Hospital. The dead included eight women and six children.
Smoke from an explosion rises in the northern Gaza Strip (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)
A strike on a tent housing displaced people in the same district killed a man, a woman and their two children.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strikes.
Gaza's Health Ministry said in a daily report on Tuesday afternoon that the bodies of 93 people killed by Israeli strikes had been brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, along with 278 wounded.
It did not specify the total number of women and children among the dead.
The Hamas politician killed in a strike early on Tuesday, Mohammed Faraj al-Ghoul, was a member of the bloc of representatives from the group that won seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council in the last election held among Palestinians in 2006.
A convoy of Israeli military vehicles leaves the Gaza Strip near the Israel-Gaza border (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)
Hamas won a majority in the vote, but relations with the main Fatah faction that had long led the Palestinian Authority unravelled and ended with Hamas taking over the Gaza Strip in 2007. The legislative council has not formally convened since.
The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. But daily, it hits homes and shelters where people are living without warning or explanation of the target.
The latest attacks came after US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two days of talks last week that ended with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release.
Israel has killed more than 58,400 Palestinians and wounded more than 139,000 others in its retaliation campaign since Hamas's attack on October 7 2023, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Just over half the dead are women and children, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally.
Palestinians inspect the wreckage of a gas station destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)
The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, is led by medical professionals. Its count, based on daily reports from hospitals, is considered by the United Nations and other experts to be the most reliable.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after its attack 20 months ago, in which militants stormed into southern Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They abducted 251 others, and the militants are still holding 50 hostages, fewer than half of them are believed to be alive.
Israel's air and ground campaign has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and driven some 90% of the population from their homes. Aid groups say they have struggled to bring in food and other assistance because of Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order, and experts have warned of famine.
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Telegraph
10 minutes ago
- Telegraph
British recognition for Palestine is to play a valuable card and get nothing for it
On Thursday night, Hamas was busy writing a statement of praise for President Macron. The French President declared that France would officially recognise a Palestinian state, much to the delight of the Islamist terrorist group. In the UK context, some voices are calling for Prime Minister Starmer to follow Macron's Napoleonic cosplaying. Were the UK to actually recognise a Palestinian state, such a decision would have exceptionally dangerous repercussions not only for Israelis but for the West as a whole. Chief among them would be that Palestinian recognition would be a reward for hostage-taking, for rape, for murder, for burning innocent people alive. Recognising a Palestinian state in a post-October 7 reality would be nothing less than a reward for terrorism. Few would argue that this impetus for unilateral Palestinian recognition has stemmed from the atrocious acts that Hamas committed on October 7 – the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. Remember, this push for recognition was not on the table on October 6. Be in no doubt, Islamist extremists are watching closely, terrorists are watching intently and the signal that they are receiving is that their violent tactics yield positive results for them in the UK and the West. They say it themselves: Hamas has welcomed multiple statements coming from London. I am sure similar praise from Hamas would come again were the UK to recognise a Palestinian state, in the same way that the terror group gleefully congratulated Macron. Recognition would be utter folly – terrorism should be eliminated, not encouraged. You may ask, what concessions are those who call for recognition asking for from the Palestinians in return? Nothing. Our 50 hostages, still languishing in the torturous terror dungeons of Gaza will not be released. Hamas will continue to be the governing authority in Gaza. It really would be a masterclass in futile diplomacy. The tragic reality is that Israel does not have, and never has had, a genuine Palestinian partner for peace. Indeed, the history of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process reads as a timeline of missed opportunities for a Palestinian statehood due to the phenomenon of Palestinian rejectionism and the refusal to accept the existence of a Jewish state within any borders. And yet, we are repeatedly told that Yasser Arafat's successor, Mahmoud Abbas, is a credible partner in that respect. How ridiculous. It was less than a year ago that Abbas praised the October 7 massacre. Furthermore, if Abbas is so pro-democracy, why is he half-way through the 21st year of his four-year term? Mahmoud Abbas has a history of Holocaust denial, having blamed the Jews for the Holocaust on multiple occasions, including in September 2023 when he said: 'Hitler Fought the European Jews Because of Their Usury, Money Dealings, It Was Not about Anti-semitism.' Most worrying of all, Abbas currently has a policy in place in which the 'moderate' Palestinian Authority literally pays salaries to the families of terrorists who murder Israelis. The more Jews murdered, the more money they receive. The PA's 'Pay for Slay' policy tragically ensures that Palestinian terrorism remains a profitable industry. For Western governments to recognise a Palestinian state, would be a de facto acceptance of Pay for Slay, which crucially would take us further away from peace and encourage more murders of Israelis and Jewish people. I have been asking myself what impact would result from such a decision, other than the aforementioned encouragement for terror? There would be no positive impact as far as the Middle East is concerned, with recognition only serving as an act of grandstanding and virtue-signalling. Positive progress can only come through bilateral discussions. Unhelpful, unilateral steps seeking to bypass Israel will achieve absolutely nothing as the reality on the ground would remain the same. And that reality is that there can be no progress or positive impact in the Israeli-Palestinian context as long as our hostages remain in captivity and Hamas remains in power. In recognising a Palestinian state, the UK would be playing a major card which could gain concessions from the Palestinians towards peace for absolutely nothing. It would also signal a significant departure from the policy of the US administration. As US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, remarked following Macron's announcement of recognition: 'This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7.' Ultimately, we have to move beyond empty words and virtue-signalling and look into the practical implications of what people are saying. When people call for recognising a Palestinian state, who would they be recognising as the Palestinian leadership? Who would they wish to govern? Presumably not the elected, genocidal terrorist group, Hamas? So, would it then be Mahmoud Abbas and his terror-supporting Palestinian Authority? Amid such global instability, the last thing the world would need is another failed state like that of Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon, or Libya. We have too many of them in our region. Corruption, jihadi extremists, power vacuums, radicalism, Iranian interference, a plethora of armed terrorist groups – a Palestinian state would have all the ingredients of a would-be failed state. Why would a Palestinian state be any different to the others? What would an education system overseen by a Holocaust denier look like? In the post-October 7 reality that Israelis are living in, what security guarantees are being given to us for our legitimate concerns? I have yet to hear a viable answer to any of those questions.
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
UK working with Jordan to air drop aid into Gaza, PM tells Macron and Merz
The Prime Minister held emergency talks with Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz on Saturday amid mounting global anger at the humanitarian conditions in the enclave. In a readout of the call, Number 10 said the leaders had agreed 'it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently-needed ceasefire into lasting peace'. 'The Prime Minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to air drop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance,' a Downing Street spokesperson said. However, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency warned airdrops were 'a distraction and a smokescreen' that would fail to reverse deepening starvation in Gaza, and could in some cases harm civilians. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Saturday: 'A man-made hunger can only be addressed by political will. Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.' Israel said on Friday it will allow airdrops of aid by foreign countries into Gaza to alleviate starvation in the Palestinian territory, where there is widespread devastation. The readout made no mention of the issue of Palestinian statehood, which the Prime Minister has faced calls to immediately recognise after French President Mr Macron confirmed his country would do so in September. However, Downing Street said the leaders had committed to 'work closely together on a plan' to 'pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region'. Once the proposals have been 'worked up', they will seek to advance them with other key partners, including in the region, the readout said. Some 221 MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents have signed a letter pressuring the Government to follow suit at a UN meeting next week. Donald Trump suggested Mr Macron's announcement, which saw him commit to formally recognising Palestinian sovereignty at the UN General Assembly in September, 'doesn't matter' as he left the US for a visit to Scotland. Sarah Champion, the senior Labour MP who organised the letter by parliamentarians, said recognition 'would send a powerful symbolic message that we support the rights of the Palestinian people'. Other senior Commons figures who signed the letter include Labour select committee chairs Liam Byrne, Dame Emily Thornberry and Ruth Cadbury. US President Donald Trump said a French announcement on Palestinian statehood 'doesn't matter' (Robert Perry/PA) Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, as well as Tory former minister Kit Malthouse, and Sir Edward Leigh – Parliament's longest-serving MP – also signed it. The majority of those who have signed, 131, are Labour MPs. The Government has so far said its immediate focus is on getting aid into the territory and insisted that recognising sovereignty must be done as part of a peace process. Charities operating in Gaza have said Israel's blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing people there towards starvation, warning that they are seeing their own workers and Palestinians 'waste away'. The Prime Minister will meet the US president during his trip to Scotland, where he arrived on Friday evening. US-led peace talks in Qatar were cut short on Thursday, with Washington's special envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'. The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Aid supplies would be ramped up and the two sides would hold negotiations on a lasting truce.
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Israeli air strikes in Gaza Strip leave at least 25 dead, health officials say
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