KEY POINTS
- Israeli attacks kill 38 aid seekers in the past 24 hours
- The total death toll in Gaza since 7 October 2023 has surpassed 57,130
- International mediators are negotiating a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas
- Hamas says it is reviewing the proposal and is open to a deal that guarantees a complete end to the war
- The truce plan involves the phased release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners
GAZA CITY, Palestine: Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 118 Palestinians, including 38 aid seekers, and injured 581 others in the past 24 hours, the territory’s health ministry said on Thursday.
The latest wave of deadly strikes comes amid renewed efforts by Egyptian and Qatari mediators—backed by the United States and international partners—to secure a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
That included 38 people killed and 49 injured while attempting to get much-needed humanitarian aid at the US and Israeli-backed aid centres, the health ministry said, raising the total number of aid seekers killed to more than 652.
Five people were killed near sites associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the newly created American organisation backed by Israel to feed the Gaza Strip’s population, while 33 others were killed waiting for aid trucks in other locations across the Gaza Strip.
Over 4,537 people have been injured across Gaza since the new mechanism for aid distribution came into force on May 27, the health ministry said.
Total death toll surpasses 57,130
Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s military campaign on Gaza has killed 57,130 Palestinians and injured 135,173 others, the statement published on Telegram said.
Israel’s military did not have an immediate comment on the strikes, the Associated Press reported.
The Israeli military’s ongoing bombardment campaign has left the coastal Palestinian territory in ruins, with much of the urban landscape flattened in the war.
More than 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has been displaced, often multiple times. And the war has sparked a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, leaving hundreds of thousands of people hungry.
The deadly attacks took place as Israel and Hamas inch closer to a possible ceasefire deal that would end the 21-month Israeli bombardment campaign.
Ceasefire efforts
Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian group Hamas on Wednesday said that it is reviewing a ceasefire proposal received from mediators. The group said that it seeks an agreement that will lead to the end of the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza – demands that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long rejected.
Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said the Palestinian group is “ready and serious” about reaching an agreement and will accept “any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the war”.
Egyptian security sources have said Egyptian and Qatari mediators were working to secure US and international guarantees that talks on ending the Gaza conflict would continue as a way of convincing Hamas to accept the two-month truce proposal, Reuters reported.
Indirect Israel-Hamas talks
A separate source familiar with the matter said that Israel was expecting Hamas’s response by Friday and that if it was positive, an Israeli delegation would join indirect talks to cement the deal, Reuters reported.
The proposal includes the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the return of the bodies of 18 more in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, Reuters reported, citing sources. Of the 50 remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 are believed to still be alive.
Hamas will not hold public ceremonies while freeing Israeli hostages, as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal being negotiated, the New York Times reported, citing sources.
The report stated that Hamas will release hostages on five separate occasions over the 60-day truce.
Israel will set free Palestinian prisoners after the process regarding the handover of hostages is completed, the New York Times reported.
