Egypt hosts Israeli delegation for peace talks
Bid to secure a truce with Gaza’s Hamas rulers
CAIRO: Israeli strikes killed 77 Palestinians in Gaza in the past 24 hours, health authorities said on Sunday, as Egypt hosted an Israeli delegation for a new round of talks in a bid to secure a truce with Gaza’s Hamas rulers.
The Israeli military said it killed a senior Islamic Jihad militant in a strike on a command centre in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza.
Palestinian health officials and Hamas media said the strike hit several tents inside the Al-Aqsa Hospital, killing 4 people and wounding several, including five journalists.
The two sides have stepped up negotiations, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, on a sixweek suspension of Israel’s offensive in return for the proposed release of 40 of 130 hostages still held by Hamas militants in Gaza.
Hamas has sought to parlay any deal into an end to the fighting and withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel has ruled this out, saying it would eventually resume efforts to dismantle the governing and military capabilities of Hamas.
Hamas would not be present at the talks in Cairo, an official said, as it waited to hear from mediators on whether a new Israeli offer was on the table.
Israeli forces continued to operate inside Al Shifa Hospital, the health ministry said. Residents living nearby said districts had been destroyed by Israeli forces near Al Shifa. “This is not war, this is genocide,” said Abu Mustafa, 49.
In the peace talks, Hamas also wants hundreds of thousands who were displaced from Gaza City and surrounding areas southward during the first stage of the war to be allowed back north.