By GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Palestinian health officials reported that Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Wednesday have claimed the lives of at least 17 people, including five children and their parents. The strikes occurred as new cease-fire talks are set to begin, marking 10 months of relentless conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The United States, Qatar, and Egypt are expected to mediate the upcoming discussions aimed at brokering a cease-fire. However, sources indicate that the negotiating parties remain far apart on several key issues despite months of indirect negotiations.
A top Hamas official, speaking to The Associated Press, expressed growing frustration, stating that the group is losing faith in the U.S. as a mediator. It remains unclear whether Hamas will attend the talks scheduled to begin Thursday.
The overall Palestinian death toll in the conflict has approached 40,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, underscoring the devastating impact of the ongoing war.
One of the most recent strikes targeted a family home late Tuesday in the densely populated Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, a camp dating back to the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel. The strike killed five children, aged 2 to 11, along with their parents.
The bodies were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where an Associated Press reporter witnessed the harrowing aftermath, describing the victims as dismembered by the blast, with the 2-year-old child reportedly decapitated.
In another tragic incident, a strike on a home early Wednesday in the nearby Maghazi refugee camp claimed the lives of four more people. The Health Ministry’s emergency service in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, reported that first responders found the bodies of four individuals killed in a strike on a residential tower late Tuesday.
Additionally, two more people were killed in a strike on a house in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, according to hospital sources.
Israeli military officials have not commented on these specific strikes but have maintained that they do not intentionally target civilians. The Israeli government frequently accuses Hamas of using residential areas for military purposes, which they argue makes it challenging to avoid civilian casualties.
However, officials in Israel rarely provide detailed accounts of individual strikes, leaving much of the devastation unaddressed in public statements.
As the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, with the death toll rising and cease-fire prospects uncertain, the humanitarian crisis deepens. The international community watches closely, hoping that the upcoming talks might bring some respite to the war-torn region.
