At least 20 Palestinians were killed on Friday in an Israeli air strike in Gaza, according to local health officials, as US president Donald Trump said he expected Hamas to respond to his “final proposal” for a ceasefire in the next 24 hours.
Health officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, said the Israeli military had carried out an air strike on a tent encampment west of the city at about 2am, killing 15 Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war.
Five were killed in northern Jabalia, medics said.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
READ MORE
Later on Friday, Palestinians gathered to perform funeral prayers before burying those killed overnight.
“The ceasefire will come, and I have lost my brother? There should have been a ceasefire long ago before I lost my brother,” said 13-year-old Mayar Al Farr as she wept. Her brother, Mahmoud, was among those killed.
Adlar Mouamar said her nephew, Ashraf, was also killed. “Our hearts are broken. We ask the world, we don’t want food ... We want them to end the bloodshed. We want them to stop this war.”
Mr Trump earlier said it would probably be known in 24 hours whether Hamas has accepted a ceasefire between the Palestinian militant group and Israel.
On Tuesday, the president announced that Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which the parties would work towards ending the war.
Hamas, which has previously declared it would agree to a deal only for a permanent end to the war, has said it was studying the proposal, but has given no public indication whether it would accept or reject it.
A source familiar with the Hamas position said the militant group was demanding clear guarantees that negotiations to end the war would take place during the 60-day ceasefire, and that if no deal was reached by the end of that period, the pause in fighting would be extended until both sides could come to terms.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu is yet to comment on Mr Trump’s ceasefire announcement. While some members of his right-wing coalition oppose a deal, others have indicated their support.
Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the militant group has so far refused to discuss.
In Tel Aviv, families and friends of hostages held in Gaza were among demonstrators who gathered outside a US embassy building on US Independence Day, calling on Mr Trump to secure a deal for all of the captives.
Demonstrators set up a symbolic Shabbat dinner table, placing 50 empty chairs to represent those who are still held in Gaza. Banners hung nearby displaying a post by Trump from his Truth Social platform that read, “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
The Sabbath, or Shabbat, observed from Friday evening to Saturday nightfall, is often marked by Jewish families with a traditional Friday night dinner.
[ Israel aims to maintain ‘aerial superiority’ over IranOpens in new window ]
“Only you can make the deal. We want one beautiful deal. One beautiful hostage deal,” said Gideon Rosenberg (48), from Tel Aviv.
Mr Rosenberg was wearing a shirt with the image of hostage Avinatan Or, one of his employees who was abducted by Palestinian militants from the Nova musical festival on October 7th, 2023. He is among the 20 hostages who are believed to be alive after more than 600 days of captivity.
Ruby Chen (55), the father of 19-year-old American-Israeli Itay, who is believed to have been killed after being taken captive, urged Mr Netanyahu to return from his meeting with Mr Trump in Washington on Monday with a deal that brings back all hostages.
“Let this United States Independence Day mark the beginning of a lasting peace ... one that secures the sacred value of human life and one that bestows dignity to the deceased hostages by ensuring their return to proper burial,” he said, also appealing to Mr Trump.
Itay Chen, also a German national, was serving as an Israeli soldier when Hamas carried out its surprise attack on October 7th, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 251 hostage.
Israel’s retaliatory war against Hamas has devastated Gaza, which the militant group has ruled for almost two decades but now only controls in parts, displacing most of the population of more than two million and triggering widespread hunger.
More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in nearly two years of fighting, most of them civilians, according to local health officials. – Reuters
