Live: Israel kills at least 58 Palestinians in 24 hours
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Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 18 Palestinians on Saturday with Israel claiming the strikes targeted gunmen operating from shelters and aid storages.
Palestinian medics said a strike killed 10 people near the municipality building in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, where people gathered to receive aid.
Medics added that casualties from the strike were being carried by foot, on rickshaws and private cars from the site of the attack to the hospital.
A Hamas source said the strike killed the head of the Hamas-run administrative committee in central Gaza.
Al Jazeera Arabic has reported that 10 people were killed and several others injured in an Israeli air strike targeting the Deir al-Balah municipality building in central Gaza.
The mayor of Deir al-Balah, Diab al-Jaro, was among the fatalities, according to Quds News Network.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi held talks on Saturday with senior US officials regarding efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and negotiate a potential hostages-for-prisoners exchange.
The discussions, which took place in Cairo, involved US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Middle East Envoy Brett McGurk, according to a statement from Sisi's office.
The Islamic Jihad group has expressed its condolences following the death of Yazid Ja'aysah, who was shot by security forces from the Palestinian Authority in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.
The movement condemned the attack, claiming that the targeting of resistance fighters in Jenin by the authority's security forces aligns with what they described as the "occupation's aggression and criminality".
The movement called for a strong response from both the Palestinian people and national forces, urging demonstrations to show opposition to the actions of the authority and its security apparatus in the West Bank.
An Israeli drone targeted a vehicle on the road to the Khardali area in southern Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.
The attack marked a fresh violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
Gaza's Civil Defence has confirmed that seven people were killed and 12 others were wounded in an Israeli bombing that targeted al-Majida Wasila School, which is sheltering displaced individuals west of Gaza City.
An Israeli air strike on Al-Majida Wasila School, a shelter for displaced families in western Gaza City, has left five Palestinians dead and injured approximately 20 others, according ro Al Jazeera Arabic.
The school had been serving as a refuge for residents fleeing intense bombardments across the Gaza Strip. The attack adds to the mounting casualties in the territory as strikes on civilian infrastructure continue to escalate.
Local officials have condemned the targeting of sites housing displaced populations, calling it a violation of international humanitarian law.
Human rights organisations have also expressed alarm over the increasing toll on civilians and the destruction of essential facilities amid the ongoing conflict.
The Gaza Strip is enduring catastrophic destruction, with its health sector on the brink of collapse amid what officials describe as a deliberate attempt to make the area uninhabitable, the director general of the health ministry told Al-Jazeera Arabic.
The official said that the region was facing an unprecedented humanitarian disaster, with 70 percent of those killed being women and children.
Hospitals are struggling to operate due to a 60 percent shortage of essential medicines, with fuel and medical supplies being prevented from entering the Strip.
The official accused the occupation of systematically destroying life in Gaza, calling it a calculated effort to render the territory uninhabitable.
The ministry has urged the international community to intervene and establish a safe corridor between Kamal Adwan and al-Awda hospitals to allow the transfer of patients and vital resources.
Good morning Middle East Eye readers,
Here are the latest updates from the Israeli war on Gaza, now in its 434th day:
- US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told Israel's Channel 13 that efforts to secure a deal for the hostages in Gaza are making headway
- Sullivan said: "There is progress on reaching a deal on the hostages in Gaza, and we are close to achieving that"
- He also stressed that Iran must not achieve nuclear capability, adding, "all options are on the table to ensure this"
Meanwhile, the United Nations raised alarms about the worsening security and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where civilians are bearing the brunt of ongoing conflict - The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that over 90% of its 137 proposed missions to northern Gaza were rejected by Israel, hindering relief efforts
- The region has been under siege for 14 months, exacerbating the suffering of its residents
- An Israeli airstrike on a school housing displaced Palestinians in northeast Gaza killed two people and injured others, according to Al Jazeera Arabic
- The attack targeted a school on Jaffa Street, where families had sought refuge from ongoing bombardments
- The Palestinian Authority (PA) has initiated the final phase of a security operation in the Jenin camp, aiming to wrest control from armed groups
- A spokesperson for the PA Security Services stated, "The operation is under the slogan of protecting the homeland"
- The campaign seeks to restore law and order to the area, long contested by outlaws
Good evening Middle East Eye readers,
Friday was another bloody day in Gaza, with Israel pounding the enclave. At least four Palestinians were killed and several others injured on Friday by Israeli strikes on Gaza City, according to Palestinian news agency, Wafa. Israel also bombed a house in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, with the dead and injured still being counted.
The Palestinian Authority slammed Israel for an attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp on Thursday that killed scores of people.
Other developments:
- Dozens of US lawmakers called for a “full assessment” of Israel’s compliance with US arms policies and laws
- US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff visited Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and met Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman
US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff visited Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and met Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, according to a report by Axios.
Witkoff discussed a deal for Saudi Arabia to normalise ties with Israel, US relations, and Israel's war on Gaza, Axios reported, citing two unnamed sources.
Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser on the Middle East, also met the Qatari prime minister in Doha this week.
Israel bombed a house in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday night, killing and wounding scores of Palestinians, according to Arabic media reports.
The casualty figures are still being determined.
Israel's strike on Jabalia follows a bloody attack on Thursday on the Nuseirat refugee camp that killed dozens of Palestinians.
Dozens of US lawmakers sent a letter on Thursday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin calling on the Biden administration to provide a “full assessment” of Israel’s compliance with US arms policies and laws.
The letter, signed by 77 Democratic members of Congress, welcomed the White House's decision in October to impose a deadline on Israel to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza or risk losing US weapons.
"That deadline has expired, and while some progress has been made, we believe the
Israeli government has not yet fulfilled the requirements outlined in your letter," they wrote.
"We are also deeply troubled by the continued level of civilian casualties and humanitarian suffering in Gaza," the letter added.
Israel faced two separate attacks from Palestinian fighters in Gaza, underscoring their ability to continue military operations despite widespread Israeli attacks on the enclave.
Israel said it intercepted two projectiles fired from Gaza on Friday. Palestinian Islamic Jihad earlier claimed it launched a rocket attack from Gaza on Israel.
Islamic Jihad's armed wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, also said it targeted Israeli troops and military vehicles in Rafah with mortar strikes.
The Palestinian Authority has slammed Israel for an attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp on Thursday that killed scores of people.
The PA's foreign affairs ministry condemned, in a statement on Friday, the "brutal massacre committed by the Israeli occupation forces in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza”.
The ministry said the attack was a "direct consequence" of the international community's failure to stop Israeli escalation in the Gaza Strip.
The PA said the strike is part of a "calculated policy aimed at obliterating Palestinian existence in the Strip, dismantling any prospect of the realization of a Palestinian state, and reducing the Palestinian cause to a mere humanitarian issue requiring aid programs".