15 killed in Gaza as Trump waits for Hamas's response to truce proposal
CAIRO : At least 15 Palestinians were killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, according to local health officials, as US President Donald Trump said he expected Hamas to respond to his 'final proposal' for a ceasefire in Gaza in the next 24 hours.
Health officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, said the Israeli military had carried out an airstrike on a tent encampment west of the city around 2am, killing 15 Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Today, Palestinians gathered to perform funeral prayers before burying those killed overnight.
'The ceasefire will come, and I have lost my brother? There should have been a ceasefire long ago before I lost my brother,' said 13-year-old Mayar Al Farr as she wept.
Her brother, Mahmoud, was among those killed.
Trump earlier said it would probably be known in 24 hours whether Hamas has accepted a ceasefire between the Palestinian resistance group and Israel.
On Tuesday, the president announced that Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which the parties would work towards ending the war.
Hamas, which has previously declared it would only agree to a deal for a permanent end to the war, has said it was studying the proposal, but given no public indication whether it would accept or reject it.
'Make the deal'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is yet to comment on Trump's ceasefire announcement.
While some members of his right-wing coalition oppose a deal, others have indicated their support.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the resistance group has so far refused to discuss.
In Tel Aviv, families and friends of hostages held in Gaza were among demonstrators who gathered outside a US embassy building on US independence day, calling on Trump to secure a deal for all of the captives.
Demonstrators set up a symbolic Shabbat dinner table, placing 50 empty chairs to represent those who are still held in Gaza.
Banners hung nearby displaying a post by Trump from his Truth Social platform that read, 'MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!'
The Sabbath, or Shabbat, observed from this evening to tomorrow nightfall, is often marked by Jewish families with a traditional Friday night dinner.
'Only you can make the deal. We want one beautiful deal. One beautiful hostage deal,' said Gideon Rosenberg, 48, from Tel Aviv.
Rosenberg was wearing a shirt with the image of hostage Avinatan Or, one of his employees who was abducted by Palestinian rebels from the Nova musical festival on Oct 7, 2023.
He is among the 20 hostages who are believed to be alive after more than 600 days of captivity.
Ruby Chen, 55, the father of 19-year-old American-Israeli Itay, who is believed to have been killed after being taken captive, urged Netanyahu to return from his meeting with Trump in Washington on Monday with a deal that brings back all hostages.
'Let this US independence day mark the beginning of a lasting peace…, one that secures the sacred value of human life and one that bestows dignity to the deceased hostages by ensuring their return to proper burial,' he said, also appealing to Trump.
Itay Chen, also a German national, was serving as an Israeli soldier when Hamas carried out its surprise attack on Oct 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 251 hostage.
Israel's retaliatory war against Hamas has devastated Gaza, which the resistance group has ruled for almost two decades but now only controls in parts, displacing most of the population of more than 2 million and triggering widespread hunger.
More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in nearly two years of fighting, most of them civilians, according to local health officials.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
25 minutes ago
- The Sun
Trump says ‘probably 12' tariff letters being sent out Monday
MORRISTOWN, UNITED STATES: US President Donald Trump said Friday that he had signed 12 trade letters to be sent out next week ahead of an impending deadline for his tariffs to take effect. 'I signed some letters and they'll go out on Monday, probably 12,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding that the countries that the letters would be sent to will be announced on the same day. His comments come days before steeper duties -- which the president said Thursday would range between 10 and 70 percent -- are set to take effect on dozens of economies, from Taiwan to the European Union. The tariffs were part of a broader announcement in April where Trump imposed a 10 percent duty on goods from almost all trading partners, with a plan to step up these rates for a select group within days. But he swiftly paused the hikes until July 9, allowing for trade talks to take place. Countries have been pushing to strike deals that would help them avoid these elevated duties. So far, the Trump administration has unveiled deals with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, while Washington and Beijing agreed to temporarily lower staggeringly high levies on each other's products. As his July 9 deadline approaches, Trump has repeatedly said he plans to inform countries of US tariff rates by sending them letters. Aboard Air Force One on Friday, Trump said sending notices would be much easier than 'sitting down and working 15 different things.' He added: 'You know, with the UK, we did that. And it was great for both parties. With China, we did that, and I think it's very good for both parties.' But he said it was 'much easier to send a letter saying, 'Listen, we know we have a certain deficit, or in some cases a surplus, but not too many. And... this is what you have to pay, if you want to do business (with) the United States.''
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
UN: 509 killed near US-backed Gaza aid distribution points
GENEVA: More than 500 people have been killed in the vicinity of the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's sites since late May, the United Nations said Friday. An officially private effort, the GHF began operations on May 26 after Israel halted supplies into the Gaza Strip for more than two months, sparking famine warnings. GHF operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations in the Palestinian territory, where the Israeli military is seeking to destroy Hamas. Overall, "we have recorded 613 killings" near GHF distribution points and near humanitarian convoys since the GHF began operations, until noon on June 27, UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters. "Of the 613 figure that I mentioned, 509 people killed were killed near the GHF distribution." The others were killed "near UN and non-UN convoys", she said. Shamdasani said the figures were evolving as the UN human rights office receives "further reports of killings since then that we are working to corroborate." Shamdasani said the task was being made more difficult by lack of access to the Gaza Strip. "It is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points," she added. "How many killings? Who is responsible for that? We need an investigation. We need access. We need an independent inquiry, and we need accountability for these killings." The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives and violates basic humanitarian principles. Based in Delaware in the United States, GHF said Thursday it had handed out more than a million boxes of foodstuffs in Gaza. GHF's chairman is Johnnie Moore, a Christian evangelical leader allied to US President Donald Trump. "We have not had a single violent incident in our distribution sites. We haven't had a violent incident in close proximity to our distribution sites," he told journalists in Brussels on Wednesday. Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organisation's representative in the Palestinian territories, spoke about the deaths, saying: "The senseless killing in Gaza must stop." Peeperkorn visited the territory's Nasser Medical Complex this week, saying there were "patients everywhere: on the floor, in the corridors", he said. "It's mainly boys, young adolescents, young men, and we all know that they go to these so-called safe, non-UN food distribution sites," he added. "There are so many of these cases shot in the head, shot in the neck, shot in the chest."--AFP
Malaysia Sun
an hour ago
- Malaysia Sun
Hamas gives
Gaza [Palestine], July 5 (ANI): Hamas announced that it had 'submitted a positive response' to a 60-day ceasefire proposal with Israel in Gaza, indicating progress toward a potential agreement after months of stalled efforts, CNN reported In a statement on Friday, Hamas said it had responded positively to the mediators and expressed readiness to begin talks on the implementation of the framework. Hamas has 'submitted a positive response to the mediators, and the movement is fully prepared to immediately enter into a round of negotiations regarding the mechanism for implementing this framework,' the group said. Israel had earlier accepted the US-backed proposal, clearing the way for both sides to begin final negotiations to work out details before a ceasefire is finalized, CNN reported. As reported by CNN, Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian-American interlocutor who has been in direct contact with Hamas, welcomed the response in a Facebook post, stating, 'We are now much closer to ending this cursed war.' He added that Hamas had introduced 'amendments it deemed necessary.' 'In my view, these amendments will not prevent reaching a ceasefire agreement within the coming week, God willing,' he said. An Israeli source familiar with the developments said earlier on Friday that a positive response from Hamas was anticipated, and that the changes made to the proposal language were not expected to disrupt the progress toward a deal, CNN reported. Under the terms of the proposal, of the 50 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, 10 -- including 8 living hostages on the first day -- would be released during the ceasefire, along with the bodies of 18 others. In exchange, an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees would be freed. Following the initial release, Israel would withdraw from parts of northern Gaza, and the two sides would begin talks on a permanent ceasefire. Hamas has been directed to release the hostages without any public displays or ceremonies. Additional hostages would be released on four other dates outlined in the proposal, CNN reported. Earlier, US President Donald Trump cautioned Hamas against rejecting the ceasefire deal, warning that 'it will not get better -- it will only get worse,' 'I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better -- IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. According to Al Jazeera, at least 57,130 Palestinians have been killed and more than 130,000 injured since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack in southern Israel that left approximately 1,139 people dead. In Gaza, hundreds of thousands have been displaced multiple times, with widespread destruction of cities, hospitals, and schools. The UN estimates that 85 per cent of Gaza is now under Israeli military control. (ANI)
