AT least 17 Palestinians were killed in a multipronged attack by Israeli forces in Gaza.
The Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas has accused Israel of intensifying attacks in Gaza to undermine efforts by Arab mediators and the United States to reach a ceasefire deal. Israel maintains that its operations aim to eliminate Hamas fighters.
In Rafah, a southern border city where Israeli forces have been active since May, five Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a house. In nearby Khan Younis, a man, his wife, and their two children were killed in another airstrike.
In the historic Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, at least four Palestinians were killed in separate shelling and aerial strikes, medics reported. Additionally, an Israeli airstrike killed four individuals in Sheikh Zayed in northern Gaza.
The Israeli military stated that troops continued “intelligence-based” activities in Rafah and that airstrikes targeted militants, tunnels, and other Hamas military infrastructure. The air force struck approximately 40 targets across the enclave, including sniping and observation posts, military structures, and buildings rigged with explosives.
The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, claimed their fighters attacked Israeli forces in several locations with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs. Islamic Jihad’s armed wing reported firing missiles at Sderot in southern Israel, though no deaths or serious damage were reported.
Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas after its militants killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages in an attack on southern Israeli communities on October 7, according to Israeli tallies. The ongoing conflict has resulted in the deaths of more than 38,000 Palestinians, with much of Gaza devastated. Israel also reported 326 of its soldiers killed in Gaza.
Relatives visited Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza to say farewell to relatives before funerals. “This is so unfair, the number of martyrs (victims), every minute there is a martyr,” said elderly Palestinian Sahar Abu Emeira. “We’re exhausted, we’re devastated, we are extremely tired, our patience is over. Whether Hamas or the others (Israel) they need to agree as soon as possible.”
Efforts mediated by Egypt and Qatar to end the conflict and secure the release of hostages and Palestinians in Israeli jails had shown some progress, negotiators said. However, the talks stalled on Saturday after three days of intense negotiations failed to produce a viable outcome. This was exacerbated by an Israeli strike targeting Hamas’ top military chief, Mohammed Deif, which killed more than 90 people and wounded hundreds, according to Gaza health authorities.
A Palestinian official close to the negotiations told Reuters that Hamas is eager to end the war but not at any price. “Hamas wants the war to end, not at any price. It says it has shown the flexibility needed and is pushing the mediators to get Israel to reciprocate,” the official said. Hamas believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to avoid a deal by imposing additional conditions that restrict the return of displaced people to northern Gaza and maintain control over the Rafah border with Egypt.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated on Monday that two senior advisers to Netanyahu affirmed Israel’s commitment to reaching a ceasefire.
