Latest Israeli strike kills 38 in Gaza: Israel, Hamas set for indirect talks; Qatar to mediate

In a latest offensive, Israeli airstrikes have claimed the lives of 38 Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, as per hospital officials. According to Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa Hospital, 20 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza City and 25 others were left wounded,

In Muwasi, southern Gaza, Israeli attacks had killed 18 others, according to officials at Nasser Hospital, near the area of Khan Younis, as reported by AP. Muwasi is an area on the Mediterranean coast sheltering thousands of displaced people living in tents. Two families were among the deceased.


“My brother, his wife, his four children, my cousin’s son and his daughter. ... Eight people are gone,” said Saqer Abu Al-Kheir.

Israel’s military did not comment on the individual strikes but reported hitting 130 targets across Gaza over the past 24 hours. It said the attacks focused on Hamas command centers, weapons storage sites, launchers, and other infrastructure, claiming several militants were killed in northern Gaza.

This comes amid the resumption of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas on Sunday mediated by Qatar, a day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit the White House. US President Donald Trump will meet Netanyahu on Monday and has proposed a 60-day ceasefire plan.

A Palestinian official close to Hamas and familiar with the talks said international mediators had informed the group that "a new round of indirect negotiations... will begin in Doha today", as reported by AFP.

Netanyahu had earlier announced that he would be sending a team to Qatar, a key mediator in the entire conflict.

The initiatives include a partial release of hostages held by Hamas in return for an increase in humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza. The proposed truce also aims to pave the way for talks on ending the 21-month-long war altogether.

Hamas gave a “positive” response on Friday to the latest US proposal but wants guarantees that the ceasefire will lead to a full end to the war and an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza. Past talks have broken down over these demands, while Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has said fighting will continue until Hamas is destroyed, reported AP.

Ahead of the indirect negotiations, Netanyahu’s office has stressed that Hamas was seeking “unaccepatble” alterations to ceasefire plans.

An Israeli officer said the Security Cabinet has approved sending aid into Northern Gaza, an area that greatly suffers due to food shortages. Northern Gaza has received a meagre amount of aid since Israel ended the ceasefire in March. The nearest aid distribution point of the Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is located near the Netzarim corridor, which divides northern and southern Gaza just south of Gaza City.

UN agencies and major humanitarian organizations have declined to work with the foundation, citing concerns that it was created to serve Israeli military interests. The UN human rights office reported that over 500 people have died while trying to access food at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites, as per AFP.

The war has led to the creation of a dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza for the more than 2 million people living in the war-ravaged territory. "People are dying for flour," said Karima al-Ras from Khan Yunis in Sourhern Gaza, as reported by AFP. "We hope that a truce will be announced,” she added.