Heavy Israeli air raids kill dozens in central Gaza as US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators consider resuming negotiations.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in intense Israeli bombardment of the central Gaza Strip, as US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators plan to resume negotiations on a proposed ceasefire and liberation deal captives.
Urban fighting and shelling rocked the southern Gaza town of Rafah, near the Egyptian border, while fighting also resumed in central areas, where the Israeli military said “troops began targeted operational activity in the areas of Bureij and eastern Deir el-Balah, both above.” and underground.
A medical source told Tel Aviv Tribune on Wednesday that at least 75 people had been killed by Israeli attacks on central Gaza over the past day. Sources also told Tel Aviv Tribune that morgues in the central city of Deir el-Balah were full while the local Al-Aqsa hospital was operating at three times capacity.
In a statement, the Israeli army said it had struck “terrorist targets” in the area, killing “several” members of the Palestinian group Hamas.
Nearly eight months into Israel’s war on Gaza, global outrage has intensified over the rising death toll – surpassing 36,500 – and destruction in the besieged and bombed territory, where UN data suggest that more than half of all buildings are destroyed or damaged.
Three-phase plan
On May 31, U.S. President Joe Biden outlined what he called a three-phase Israeli plan, proposing to halt fighting for six weeks while Israeli captives held in Gaza would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and Aid would be strengthened in the first phase.
Regional and international powers have backed the proposal, although sticking points remain: Hamas insists on a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal, demands that Israel has rejected.
Biden urged Hamas to accept the deal and deployed CIA chief Bill Burns as a mediator to Qatar for a new push after months of back-and-forth.
A source with knowledge of the talks told the AFP news agency that Burns would “continue to work with mediators to reach an agreement between Hamas and Israel on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages.”
Brett McGurk, Biden’s top Middle East adviser, was also traveling to Qatar, according to the Axios news site, which cited sources speaking of a “full-scale press…to get a breakthrough.”
Egypt’s state-linked Al-Qahera News newspaper said an “Egyptian security delegation will meet its Qatari and US counterparts in Doha on Wednesday to discuss the mechanism for resuming truce talks.”
Qatar said Tuesday it had yet to see any statements from either side “that give us a lot of confidence” but added it was “working with both sides on the proposals on the table.” .
Biden had earlier told the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, that “Hamas is now the only obstacle to a complete ceasefire”, and “confirmed Israel’s willingness to go moving forward” with the conditions he set out last week.
A senior Hamas official in Beirut on Tuesday accused Israel of seeking to negotiate an “endless” truce and reiterated the group’s position rejecting any agreement excluding a permanent ceasefire.
Sultan Barakat, professor of public policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, said the situation remained “very confusing” days after the US president’s proposal.
“Biden announced something that some Israelis say he shouldn’t have announced, some say he announced it without our approval and some think he may have announced it with the approval of Gantz, unlike Netanyahu and Gallant, the other two cabinet members,” Barakat told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“This shows that there could be a division within Israel as to the direction they can take,” he added.
Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7 have killed at least 36,586 people and injured 83,074, with thousands more missing under the rubble and presumed dead, according to health authorities. Israel launched its assault on Gaza after a Hamas-led attack in southern Israel killed around 1,140 people.
