42 Dead In Israeli Strikes In Gaza, Ceasefire Talks Resume In Qatar

Palestinian health authorities said that more than 110 people have been killed in two days following the strikes that hit Gaza on Friday.

Hamas said it was committed to reaching an agreement but it was unclear how close the two sides were.

Source : UNRWA

At least 42 people, including children, were killed in Gaza, due to Israeli airstrikes on Friday, as health workers and Israel’s military exchanged claims over reported evacuation orders for two hospitals in the territory’s largely isolated north.  Palestinian health authorities said had killed more than 110 people in two days.

According to the Associated Press (AP), the assertions regarding Al-Awda and Indonesian hospitals arose as ceasefire talks to end 15 months of war resumed in Qatar. The staff at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said that more than a dozen women and children were killed in the strikes in Gaza, including in Nuseirat, Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al-Balah. Dozens others were killed across the enclave on Thursday.

Later on Friday, officials of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital that three were killed in a car in central Gaza. The Civil Defence said that an airstrike killed seven people. Including a woman and four children, in the Shijaiyah neighbourhood outside Gaza City, in another strike killed two people at Al-Samer junction in Gaza City.

The Israeli army stated that it had struck multiple Hamas gathering points and command centres throughout Gaza, warning civilians to evacuate central Gaza in anticipation of further attacks, as per AP. It also reported that some projectiles were launched from the region, though no injuries were sustained.

Israel was also pounded by attacked by missiles fired from Yemen, people scrambled to shelters. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Talks In Qatar For Ceasefire

According to Reuters, mediators from Israel were dispatched to resume talks in Doha orchestrated by Qatari and Egyptian mediators on Friday. US President Joe Biden’s administration is helping to broker the talks. They urged Hamas to agree to a deal. Hamas said it was committed to reaching an agreement but it was unclear how close the two sides were.

Hamas stated that indirect ceasefire talks would resume on Friday, following Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s authorisation of a delegation from Mossad, Shin Bet, and the military to continue discussions in Qatar, as per AP.

The US-led talks have repeatedly stalled. Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed. But the militants, while greatly weakened, have repeatedly regrouped, often after Israeli forces withdraw from areas.