by Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO (Reuters) – Israeli military strikes killed 77 Palestinians in Gaza in the past 24 hours, Palestinian health authorities said on Sunday, as Egypt hosted an Israeli delegation for a new round of negotiations to obtain a truce with Hamas leaders in Gaza.
The Israeli military said it killed a senior Islamic Jihad leader in a strike on a command center in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza.
“The command center and terrorists were struck with precision, aiming to minimize damage to uninvolved civilians in the hospital area,” the army said. “The Al-Aqsa Hospital building was not damaged and its operation was not affected.”
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There was no immediate comment from Islamic Jihad, a militant group allied with Hamas.
Palestinian health authorities and Hamas media said the strike hit several tents inside Al-Aqsa hospital, killing four people and injuring several, including five journalists.
The belligerents intensified negotiations, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, regarding a six-week suspension of the Israeli offensive in exchange for the release of 40 of the 130 hostages still held by Hamas militants in Gaza after their October 7 attack on southern Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised at a press conference in Jerusalem to maintain military pressure on Hamas, while remaining flexible on negotiations, affirming that this remained the best combination to succeed in freeing the few 130 hostages still in the hands of the Islamist group.
Hamas has sought to turn any agreement into a cessation of fighting and a withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel has ruled out the possibility, saying it will continue its efforts to dismantle Hamas’s leadership and military capabilities.
Hamas will not be present at the Cairo talks, an official told Reuters on Sunday, awaiting a response from mediators on whether a new Israeli offer is on the table.
In the town of Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces continued to blockade the two main hospitals, and tanks shelled areas in the center and east of the territory.
Palestinian health authorities said an Israeli airstrike killed nine people in Bani Suhaila, near Khan Yunis, while another airstrike killed four in the Al-Maghazi camp in the center of the Gaza strip.
“ENTIRE STREETS” DESTROYED
In Gaza City, Israeli forces continued their operations inside Al Chifa Hospital, the territory’s health ministry said. Residents living nearby said residential neighborhoods were destroyed by Israeli forces near Al Chifa.
“I went out to buy medicine in a pharmacy and what I saw broke my heart. Entire streets with the buildings there were destroyed,” said Abu Mustafa, 49.
“It’s not a war, it’s a genocide,” he told Reuters by telephone from Gaza City.
Like the rest of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, Abu Mustafa, a father of six, struggles to feed his family in the north of the enclave, where the United Nations has warned famine is imminent.
“We sleep and wake up dreaming of a ceasefire that would end the war and preserve the lives of all those remaining in Gaza,” he said, refusing to give his name out of fear. Israeli reprisals.
The Israeli military (IAF) said forces operating in Al Chifa killed gunmen barricading the area and found weapons.
“Several compounds used to launch anti-tank missiles and where snipers operated were struck by IAF aircraft in the Rimal district near Al Shifa, the army said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said 200 gunmen have been killed since the operation around Al Chifa hospital began and several hundred others have surrendered.
“No hospital looks like this. It looks like a house of terrorists,” he said, referring to Al Chifa Hospital, during a press conference.
MORE THAN 32,000 PALESTINIANS KILLED SINCE OCTOBER 7
Israeli forces also killed 15 armed men in the central Gaza Strip and several in Khan Yunis, including near Al-Amal hospital.
Israel said it killed and arrested hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad gunmen in Al Shifa during a raid. Hamas and medical personnel deny any armed presence inside medical facilities, accusing Israel of killing and arresting civilians.
As part of the peace talks, Hamas also wants the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced from Gaza City and surrounding areas to the south during the first phase of the war to be allowed to return to the north.
According to the territory’s health authorities, more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip since October 7.
The war erupted after Hamas militants crossed the border and rampaged through communities in southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostage, according to Israeli counts.
On Thursday, the World Court unanimously ordered Israel, accused by South Africa of genocide in Gaza, to take all necessary and effective measures to ensure the supply of basic foodstuffs to the population.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, with Ari Rabinovtich in Jerusalem, writing by Nick Macfie, French version Benjamin Mallet and Zhifan Liu)
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