1 month ago
10
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes crossed the Gaza Strip connected Friday killed astatine slightest 64 people, hospitals said, arsenic U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up his Middle East sojourn that skipped Israel and offered nary imaginable for a ceasefire successful the war-battered territory.
At slightest 48 bodies were brought to the Indonesian infirmary and different 16 bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital, wellness officials said, arsenic strikes overnight into Friday greeting deed the outskirts of Deir al-Balah and the metropolis of Khan Younis.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier communicative follows below.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes killed astatine slightest 20 radical successful Gaza connected Friday morning, arsenic U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up his Middle East visit.
An Associated Press writer counted the bodies arsenic they were brought to the Indonesian Hospital successful bluish Gaza. Survivors said galore radical were inactive nether the rubble.
The wide attacks crossed bluish Gaza travel arsenic Trump finishes his sojourn to Gulf states but not Israel. There had been wide anticipation that Trump’s determination travel could usher successful a ceasefire woody oregon renewal of humanitarian assistance to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is present successful its 3rd month.
The Israeli subject had nary contiguous remark connected the strikes, which lasted hours into Friday greeting and sent radical fleeing from the Jabaliya exile campy and the municipality of Beit Lahiya. They followed days of akin attacks that killed much than 130 people, according to Gaza’s wellness ministry.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier successful the week to propulsion up with a promised escalation of unit successful Israel’s warfare successful the Gaza Strip to prosecute his purpose of destroying the Hamas militant group, which governs Gaza.
In comments released by Netanyahu’s bureau Tuesday, the premier curate said Israeli forces were days distant from entering Gaza “with large spot to implicit the ngo ... It means destroying Hamas.”
It was unclear if Friday’s bombardment was the commencement of the operation.
An Israeli authoritative said Cabinet members were gathering Friday to measure the negotiations successful Qatar, wherever ceasefire negotiations are taking place, and to determine connected adjacent steps. The authoritative was not authorized to little media connected the gathering and spoke connected information of anonymity.
On Friday, families of the hostages said they awoke up with “heavy hearts” to reports of accrued attacks and called connected Netanyahu to “join hands” with Trump’s efforts to merchandise the hostages.
“Missing this historical accidental for a woody to bring the hostages location would beryllium a resounding nonaccomplishment that volition beryllium remembered successful infamy forever," the families said successful a connection released by the hostage forum, which supports them.
The warfare began erstwhile Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 radical successful an Oct. 7, 2023, intrusion into confederate Israel. Israel’s retaliatory violative has killed much than 53,000 Palestinians, galore of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not accidental however galore were combatants. Almost 3,000 person been killed since Israel broke a ceasefire connected March 18, the ministry said.
Hamas inactive holds 58 of the astir 250 hostages it took during its Oct. 7 onslaught connected Israel, with 23 believed to inactive beryllium alive, though Israeli authorities person expressed interest for the presumption of 3 of those.
The attacks travel arsenic Israel enters its 3rd period of blockading Gaza, preventing food, substance medicine and each different supplies from entering, worsening a humanitarian crisis. Israel says the blockade aims to unit Hamas to merchandise the hostages it inactive holds and that it won’t let assistance backmost successful until a strategy is successful spot that gives it power implicit distribution.
Earlier this week, a caller humanitarian enactment that has U.S. backing to instrumentality implicit assistance transportation said it expects to statesman operations earlier the extremity of the period — aft what it describes arsenic cardinal agreements from Israeli officials.
A connection from the group, called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, identified respective U.S. subject veterans, erstwhile humanitarian coordinators and information contractors that it said would pb the transportation effort.
Many successful the humanitarian community, including the U.N., said the strategy does not align with humanitarian principles and won't beryllium capable to conscionable the needs of Palestinians successful Gaza and won't enactment it.
———-
Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg successful Tel Aviv, Israel contributed to this report.
