As Egypt hosts an Israeli delegation for new talks to secure a ceasefire with Gaza’s Hamas rulers, health officials said Sunday that Israeli airstrikes have killed Palestinians in the past 24 hours in the Gaza Strip. It was announced that 77 people had died.
The Israeli military said it had killed a senior leader of Islamic Jihad, an extremist group and Hamas ally, in an attack on a command center in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza.
“The command center and terrorists were attacked with precision, with the aim of minimizing damage to unrelated civilians in the vicinity of the hospital,” the military said. “The Al Aqsa Hospital building was not damaged and its functioning was not affected.”
There was no immediate comment from Islamic Jihad.
Palestinian health officials and Hamas media said the attack hit several tents inside Al-Aqsa Hospital, killing four people and injuring several others, including five journalists.
More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military attacks in the Gaza Strip since October 7, according to Gaza health officials.
The war broke out after Hamas-led militants breached the border and rampaged through communities in southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The two countries agreed to halt Israeli attacks for six weeks in exchange for the release of 40 of the 130 Hamas hostages still held in the Gaza Strip after the October 7 attack on southern Israel. Negotiations are being strengthened through the mediation of Qatar and Egypt. .
Prime Minister Netanyahu vows to continue military pressure
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed to continue military pressure on Hamas, while offering flexibility in talks, saying only that combination would result in the release of hostages still cut off in Gaza.
Hamas insists that any agreement must ensure an end to the fighting and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel said it would resume efforts to eliminate it and ultimately dismantle Hamas’ governance and military capabilities.
Officials told Reuters on Sunday that Hamas would not attend the talks in Cairo as it awaits hearing from the mediator whether a new Israeli proposal is being considered.
In the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, Israeli forces continued to blockade two main hospitals and tanks shelled areas in the central east of the territory.
Palestinian health authorities said an Israeli airstrike killed nine people in Bani Suhaira, near Khan Younis, and another airstrike killed four people in al-Magazi camp in the central Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military said it had killed 15 gunmen in the central Gaza Strip and several others in Khan Younis, including near al-Amal hospital.
More fighting reported at Gaza’s biggest hospital
According to the Ministry of Health, Israeli forces continue to operate in Gaza City inside al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in the region. Residents living nearby said residential areas near Al Shifa had been destroyed by Israeli forces.
Abu Mustafa, 49, said: “I went out to buy medicine at a pharmacy and what I saw was heartbreaking. The street where the buildings used to be there was completely destroyed. “I was doing it,” he said.
“This is not a war. This is genocide,” he told Reuters by phone from Gaza City.
Israel’s war in Gaza has disrupted health care in the region, and even if the war ends now, the deadly effects are expected to last for years, according to a report from the British Foreign Office.
Israel, which faces intense international pressure, said it was doing everything in its power to minimize harm to civilians as it battled extremists on urban battlefields.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said about 200 militants had been killed at al-Shifa hospital so far, and hundreds more had surrendered.
“There is no hospital like this in the world. This is what a home for terrorists looks like,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a news conference in Jerusalem.
Hamas denies having a military presence at the hospital, and its spokesman said those who died there were civilians.
The Israeli military announced that weapons were found at the hospital and that “several compounds used to launch anti-tank missiles and where snipers were active were attacked by IAF aircraft” in the Rimal area near Shifa.
gloomy easter
Palestinian Christians participated in a solemn Easter service at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City.
“My hope is that they leave us alone and that we return to our land and our children,” said Winnie Tarazzi, a Gazan woman who was praying in the church.
Gaza’s population includes an estimated 1,000 Christians, most of whom are Greek Orthodox.
Israel holds large-scale anti-government demonstrations
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in central Jerusalem on Sunday in the largest anti-government demonstration since the start of the war in October. Demonstrators called on the government to reach a ceasefire agreement to release hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and to hold early elections.
Demonstrators have blamed Prime Minister Netanyahu for the failure on October 7, arguing that political divisions over his attempts to reform the judiciary last year weakened Israel ahead of the attack. Some accused him of damaging relations with the United States, Israel’s most important ally.
Prime Minister Netanyahu also faces a series of corruption charges that are slowly making their way through the courts, and critics say his decisions appear to be focused on political survival rather than national interest. are doing.
Boaz Atsiri, whose cousin Aviv Atlizi and Liat’s wife Liat were kidnapped on October 7, said: “I believe none of the hostages will return because the government is busy negotiating for the hostages.” “I’m working on it,” he said. Riat was released, but Aviv was killed and her body is in Gaza. “Prime Minister Netanyahu is only working for his personal interests.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a nationally televised speech before undergoing hernia surgery late Sunday that he understood the family’s pain. But he said holding new elections (which he described as close to victory) would paralyze Israel for six to eight months and stall hostage negotiations. For now, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ruling coalition appears to remain firmly intact.
Some hostage families agree that now is not the time for an election.
Sheri Shem Tov, whose son Omer was abducted from a music festival, told Israel’s Channel 12: “I don’t think changing the prime minister now will move forward and help my son return home.” “I’m going to vote now.” It will simply put aside the most pressing issue of returning the hostages. ”
