At least 30 people, including children, were killed in Gaza by Israeli strikes overnight on Thursday and into yesterday morning, hospital staff said, as sirens sounded across Israel and stalled ceasefire talks were set to resume.
More than one dozen women and children were killed in strikes that hit sites in central Gaza, including Nuseirat, Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al-Balah, Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital staff said.
Dozens of people were also killed across the enclave the previous day, bringing the total of people killed in the 24-hour period to 56.
Photo: AFP
The Israeli army did not immediately comment on the latest strikes, but says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths.
The strike in Israeli-declared humanitarian zone Muwasi occurred as hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have been huddling there in damp winter weather.
“Everyone was taking shelter in their tents from the cold, and suddenly we found the world turning upside down. Why, and for what?” said Ziyad Abu Jabal, who was displaced from Gaza City.
Among those killed early yesterday was Omar al-Derawi, a freelance journalist. The Associated Press reporters saw friends and colleagues mourning over his body at the hospital, with a press vest laid on top of his shroud.
As the attacks were under way, efforts at ceasefire negotiations were expected to resume yesterday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had authorized a delegation from the Mossad intelligence agency, the Shin Bet internal security agency and the military to continue ceasefire negotiations in Qatar. The delegation was to leave for Qatar yesterday.
Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, the military killed five policemen in eastern Khan Younis.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said the strike targeted the head of the Hamas internal security force in southern Gaza.
“Where did we find him? Where else, but of course hiding in the humanitarian zone in Khan Younis, where Gazans are sheltering from this war,” Mencer said.
In other news, Israelis also woke up to attacks early yesterday morning.
Missiles were fired into the country from Yemen, Israel said, setting off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and central Israel and sending people scrambling to shelters.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, although a faint explosion, likely either from the missiles or from interceptors, could be heard in Jerusalem.
Israel’s army said a missile was intercepted.
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