Scores killed in overnight strikes

GAZA: ISRAEL INCREASES OPERATIONS IN THE SOUTH

Meanwhile, new deal sees aid and medicines get to Palestinians.

Israeli strikes killed dozens more people overnight, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said yesterday, including in the territory’s south where Israel has intensified operations.

The renewed strikes came as medicine for hostages and fresh aid for civilians entered the Palestinian territory under a newly brokered deal, mediator Qatar said.

The ministry said 93 people had been killed, including 16 in a single strike on a house in the southern city of Rafah, where many people have fled.

The Hamas government reported dozens of strikes, including on the southern city of Khan Yunis and refugee camps in central Gaza.

At least 24 448 Palestinians, most of them women, children and adolescents, have been killed in Israeli bombardments and a ground offensive, according to the health ministry.

Hamas and other militants seized about 250 hostages during the 7 October attacks and 132 remain in Gaza, including at least 27 believed to have been killed.

The fate of those still in captivity has gripped Israeli society, leading to pressure against the government for their release.

A broader humanitarian crisis in besieged Gaza is marked by the threat of famine and disease, fuelling international calls for a ceasefire.

Late on Wednesday, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said on X that medicine for hostages and aid entered Gaza “over the past few hours” under the agreement announced on Tuesday following French and Qatari mediation.

Two planes earlier arrived in the Egyptian city of El-Arish near the Gaza border with 61 tons of aid provided by Doha and France, including medicine and food, Qatar said. Forty-five hostages are expected to receive medication.