Israeli airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza, health workers say; high-level cease-fire talks held in Egypt
CAIRO — Israeli airstrikes killed at least three dozen Palestinians in southern Gaza, health workers said Saturday, as officials including a Hamas delegation gathered for high-level cease-fire talks in neighboring Egypt.
Eleven members of one family, including two children, were among the dead after an airstrike hit their home in Khan Yunis, according to Nasser Hospital, which received a total of 33 bodies from three strikes in and around the city that also hit tuk-tuks and passersby. Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said it received three bodies from another strike.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.
First responders also recovered 16 bodies from the Hamad City area of Khan Yunis after a partial pullout of Israeli forces, 10 bodies from a residential block west of Khan Yunis and two farther south in Rafah. The circumstances of their deaths were not immediately clear, but the areas were repeatedly bombed by the Israeli military over the last week. An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies.
Some residents returned to Hamad City, walking between destroyed apartment buildings. One multistory building’s entire wall was gone, its rooms framing residents picking through debris.
“There is nothing — no apartment, no furniture, no homes. Only destruction,†said one woman, Neveen Kheder. “We are dying slowly. You know what, if they gave a mercy bullet it would be better than what is happening to us.â€
Mohammad Abu Al-Qumsan lost his children, wife, and mother-in-law in an Israeli strike that hit a Gaza Strip apartment building while he was away.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas and other militants staged a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking some 250 hostage. More than 100 hostages were released during a cease-fire last year, but Hamas is still believed to be holding around 110; Israeli authorities estimate about a third are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory attacks have killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry said Saturday that 69 dead and 212 wounded had been brought to hospitals across Gaza over the last 24 hours.
Israel’s military announced the deaths of four more soldiers in combat in central Gaza on Friday.
Much of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed and the vast majority of its 2.3 million residents have been forced to flee their homes, sometimes more than once, with many cramming into shrinking areas designated as humanitarian zones.
In Egypt, the U.S. delegation led by CIA Director William Burns and White House Middle East advisor Brett McGurk held talks with senior Egyptian officials and then with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to comment publicly.
The Egyptian and Qatari negotiators were expected to meet with Hamas officials Saturday evening. Hamas won’t take part directly in Sunday’s talks but will be briefed by Egypt and Qatar, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawy told the AP. He said Hamas’ position hadn’t changed from accepting an earlier draft that would include the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
An Israeli delegation that arrived Thursday included the heads of the Mossad foreign intelligence service and Shin Bet security service and top general Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano.
The U.S. has been pushing a proposal that aims at closing the gaps between Israel and Hamas as fears grow over a wider regional war after the recent targeted killings of leaders of the militant Hamas and Hezbollah groups, both blamed on Israel.
Iranian officials say their response to two assassinations blamed on Israel may be delayed.
The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr., will visit Egypt, Jordan and Israel over the next few days to “stress the importance of deterring further escalation of hostilities,†a statement said.
President Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to emphasize the urgency of reaching a deal and discussed developments with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt on Friday.
Major differences remain between Israel and Hamas over Israel’s insistence that it maintain forces in the Philadelphi corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt and the Netzarim east-west corridor across the territory to prevent smuggling and catch militants.
In the latest protest in Tel Aviv, some Israelis again expressed anger with Netanyahu as they pressed for a deal to bring hostages home.
“Remove him from his position and appoint a person who is able to return them,†said Ayala Metzger, daughter-in-law of Yoram Metzger, whose body was recovered in Gaza last week.
Associated Press writers Magdy reported from Cairo and Rising from Bangkok. AP writer Wafaa Shurfa in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.
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