Israeli airstrike kills eight Palestinians in Gaza
- 2 hours ago
At least eight Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli strike on a house in the Daraj neighbourhood of Gaza City, medics told Reuters early on Tuesday.
Casualties were moved to Al-Ahli Arab Baptist hospital in Gaza City, medics added.
More than 45,000 Palestinians have now been killed in the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas fighters, health officials in the embattled territory said on Monday, as often-stalled ceasefire negotiations appeared to be gaining ground.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States have renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire deal in recent days, and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday he believed negotiators are closer to a deal than at any time since the only previous truce, a week-long pause in November 2023 that saw 105 hostages released.
"We all estimate that an opportunity is being created following Hamas's need to become more flexible, and I really hope we can advance to a practical stage in this process," Katz said ahead of a closed-door session of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee.
Israel and the Lebanese group Hizbollah, a key Hamas ally, agreed to a ceasefire late last month.
Palestinian health officials updated the Gaza death toll to 45,028. They said 106,962 others have been wounded since the war began, and warned that the true toll is higher because thousands of bodies are buried under rubble or in areas that medics cannot access.
The ministry's count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but it has said more than half of the fatalities are women and children. The Israeli military says it has killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
Agencies
