GAZA STRIP: Israeli strikes hit Gaza on Thursday, killing and injuring several Palestinian people according to medical sources, as the military claimed it had recovered the bodies of five Israeli hostages. Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts are underway to negotiate a ceasefire and secure the release of hostages held in Gaza.
According to Palestinian medical sources, the latest Israeli strikes have resulted in several casualties among Palestinian civilians. The Israeli strikes targeted various locations in Gaza, including residential areas in Gaza City and other southern districts such as Khan Younis and Rafah. Reports indicated air raids and artillery fire from Israeli tanks, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, advocating for the remaining captives, criticized what it described as “sabotage” in negotiations by the Israeli government, alleging misrepresentation of information that has complicated efforts to secure the release of other hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, currently in Washington for talks with US President Joe Biden, faces mounting international pressure to end the conflict.
In his recent address to the US Congress, Netanyahu defended Israel’s military actions, downplaying civilian casualties. He accused Hamas of thwarting peace efforts.
After Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, Hamas issued a statement saying the Israeli premier “thwarted all efforts aimed at ending the war and concluding a deal to release the prisoners,” despite Egyptian and Qatari mediation.
Since October 7 last year, Israel has launched a relentless bombardment campaign in Gaza killing at least 39,175 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The toll includes 30 deaths reported within the past 24 hours alone.
Palestinian medical services on Thursday said their teams had transported four dead and 12 wounded after a strike on a house in the Gaza City area in the north of the territory.
After the military warned it would “forcefully operate” in the Khan Younis area, the Gaza health ministry on Monday said an Israeli operation had killed 70 people and wounded more than 200.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, with reports of hospitals overwhelmed by the influx of casualties, mostly women and children. In May, the United Nations said women and children made up at least 56 percent of those killed during the war, based on a breakdown provided by Gaza’s health ministry at that time.
International observers have voiced concerns over the disproportionate impact on civilians in the conflict, urging Israel to ensure civilian protection and humanitarian aid access.
Meanwhile, the United States has criticized Israeli legislative proposals targeting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), rejecting claims that the agency constitutes a terrorist organization and emphasizing the need for humanitarian assistance to alleviate suffering in Gaza.
“UNRWA is not a terrorist organization,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, urging a halt to the legislation.
Efforts to reach a ceasefire and negotiate the release of hostages remain fraught with challenges, as both sides dig in amid escalating violence and diplomatic maneuvering.
A senior US administration official said negotiations for a Gaza deal were in the last stretch and Biden would try to close some “final gaps” with Netanyahu.
But a source with knowledge of the talks said separately that the arrival of an Israeli delegation in Doha for talks on Israeli demands for a deal had been postponed from Thursday to next week.
Washington has been increasingly alarmed by the humanitarian toll of the Gaza war, but in his speech to Congress, Netanyahu dismissed “all the lies” about civilian fatalities.
