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Strikes during Cairo talks
Israeli strikes killed at least four people, including two children, across the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning, with medics and Palestinian media reporting deaths in Khan Younis, the Bureij refugee camp, and Gaza City.
“At least four people, including an 8-year-old girl and a 18-month old child, were killed in Israeli strikes”
The Times of Israel said an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment in Khan Younis killed a 20-year-old man and an 8-year-old girl, while an airstrike in Bureij hit a house killing an 18-month-old baby and wounding at least eight people.
Al Jazeera reported that Gaza’s Ministry of Health said hospitals received six bodies and 34 injured people in the past 24 hours, including four new deaths.
In Cairo, mediators held a new round of talks with Hamas leaders aimed at implementing a U.S.-backed plan to end the war, as SANA said the talks continued while violence persisted in Gaza.
The Times of Israel also reported that an Israeli security official said the strikes were directed at terror operatives, while the IDF did not immediately comment on the incidents.
Claims, numbers, and ceasefire
The casualty figures varied by outlet, with Haaretz saying Israeli strikes killed four people and wounded at least 34 others across the Gaza Strip overnight and on Thursday morning, while Al Jazeera cited Gaza’s Ministry of Health figures of six bodies and 34 injured in the past 24 hours.
Al Jazeera framed the attacks as violations of an ongoing “ceasefire,” quoting its own reporting that “Ceasefire” talks were underway in Cairo even as Israeli air strikes continued.
The Times of Israel reported that the IDF announced a Hamas sniper commander and a terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught were killed in separate strikes in Gaza earlier this week.
In its reporting on the same day’s violence, Al Jazeera said a man and an eight-year-old child were killed in Khan Younis and that an 18-month-old baby was killed in Bureij, while a Palestinian man riding a bicycle was also killed in Gaza City.
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary described the aftermath of a Wednesday evening attack in Gaza City’s Shati refugee camp as “terrifying,” saying a building was targeted and surrounded by two makeshift tent camps.
What’s at stake next
The talks in Cairo focused on implementing the second phase of a Gaza peace plan, with Al Jazeera saying the talks stalled over Israel’s failure to withdraw and cease attacks and Hamas refusing to disarm as per Israeli demands.
“The talks have stalled primarily because of two key issues: Israel’s failure to withdraw from Gaza”
Al Jazeera reported that the deal states that 600 trucks of humanitarian aid are to be allowed into Gaza each day, while it also said Israeli authorities continued to restrict the amount of vital supplies entering the territory.
Boursorama said Hamas representatives were in Cairo on Thursday for discussions with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators regarding the implementation of the second phase of the peace plan desired by Washington, under the aegis of the Peace Council.
Ynetnews reported that Israel’s Security Cabinet approved the entry of the Board of Peace into Gaza, expected to begin in Rafah, and quoted Michal Uziyahu warning that there must be no progress to the next stages as long as Hamas has not been disarmed.
Ynetnews also quoted Orit Struck saying the war aims include “the full demilitarization of the Gaza Strip and the removal of any threat from it toward the State of Israel,” while the same report said the war aims were anchored in a Cabinet decision and in Trump’s plan for the Gaza Strip.
