18-05-2025
Israel airstrikes kill at least 100 in Gaza amid ceasefire talks
At least 100 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight, Hamas-run health authorities said, as mediators hosted a new round of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.
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 territory and controlling aid.
Hamas says it will only free the hostages in return for an Israeli ceasefire.
Egypt and Qatar mediators, backed by the United States, began a new round of indirect ceasefire talks between the two sides yesterday, but sources close to the negotiations said there had been no breakthrough.
A Palestinian official close to the talks, which are taking place in the Qatari capital, Doha, said: "Hamas is flexible about the number of hostages it can free, but the problem has always been over Israel's commitment to end the war."
Britain's Sky News Arabica and the BBC both reported that the Palestinian militant group had proposed releasing about half its Israeli hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
A Hamas official said: "Israel's position is unchanged, they want their prisoners released, without a commitment to end the war."
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 US administration for the escalation.
Among the dozens killed earlier this morning were three journalists and their families. Medical officials said another family in northern Gaza lost at least 20 of its members.
Zakaria Al-Sinwar, a history lecturerat a Gaza university and the brother of former Hamas chief Yehya Al-Sinwar whom Israel killed last October, and three of his children were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their tent in central Gaza, medics said.
The Gaza healthcare system is barely operational because of repeated Israeli bombardment and raids on hospitals. The blockade on aid supplies has compounded their difficulties while adding to widespread hunger, for which Israel blames Hamas.
The Israeli military said in a statement yesterday that it was conducting extensive strikes in areas of Gaza as part of its plan to reach its war objectives.
Israel's declared goal in Gaza is the elimination of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, which attacked Israeli communities on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages.
The Israeli military campaign has devastated Gaza, pushing nearly all residents from their homes and killing more than 53,000 people, according to Hamas-run health authorities.
