Israel and Hamas resumed ceasefire talks on Saturday in Qatar, both sides said, even as Israeli forces ramped up a bombing campaign that has killed hundreds of people over 72 hours, and mobilised for a massive new ground assault.
More than 150 people had been killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It said more than 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a January ceasefire on March 18.
On Saturday afternoon, an Israeli strike killed at least four children in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to Al Awda Hospital, which received the bodies. Seven others were wounded in the strike, which hit a house. A later strike in Jabaliya killed four, the hospital said.
An airstrike east of Deir Al Balah in central Gaza killed a woman and three children, with the bodies arriving at al-Aqsa hospital. Another strike in Deir Al Balah killed four people, including a woman.
Israel says it is mobilising to seize more ground in Gaza in a new campaign dubbed “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” which follows a visit this week to the Middle East by US President Donald Trump. It has halted all supplies entering Gaza since the start of March, leading to rising international concern over the plight of the enclave’s 2.3 million residents.
“The Hamas delegation outlined the position of the group and the necessity to end the war, swap prisoners, the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and allowing humanitarian aid and all the needs of the people of Gaza back into the strip,” he added.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz also said in a statement that negotiations on a deal to release Israeli hostages held by Hamas had resumed in Doha. He noted that the talks had started without Israel first agreeing to a ceasefire or to lift its blockade.
Israel’s military said it was conducting extensive strikes and mobilising troops with the aim of achieving “operational control” in parts of Gaza.
Gaza health authorities said most of those killed on Saturday were in towns on the northern edge of the enclave, including Beit Lahiya and the Jabalia refugee camp, as well as in the southern city of Khan Younis. They said 459 people had been injured. Israeli forces had told people to leave the northern areas on Friday.
“Northern Gaza is witnessing a systematic campaign of extermination,” Hamas said in a statement, calling on Arab leaders at a summit in Baghdad to take practical steps to stop the aggression and ensure the delivery of aid.
Talks since March have failed to restore a truce under which Hamas would release remaining hostages captured in the October, 2023 assault on Israel that precipitated the war. Hamas has long said it would not free them unless Israel ends its campaign; Israel says it will fight on until Hamas is dismantled.
NBC News reported on Friday, citing five people with knowledge of the matter, that the Trump administration is working on a plan to permanently relocate as many as one million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya. All major Palestinian political groups reject any such displacement.
Also during the day, Italy’s government on Saturday upped its exhortations to Israel to stop deadly military strikes in Gaza, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani saying: “Enough with the attacks.”
“We no longer want to see the Palestinian people suffer,” Tajani said during a trip to Sicily, in remarks relayed by his spokesman. “Let’s come to a ceasefire, let’s free the hostages, but let’s leave people who are victims of Hamas alone,” he was cited as saying.
Germany is “deeply concerned” about the situation in Gaza, where it said an intensified Israeli offensive could endanger the lives of hostages, including Germans, the foreign ministry said.
The offensive “could put the lives of the remaining hostages, including those of German hostages, in danger,” said a ministry statement. “A broad military offensive also risks worsening further the catastrophic humanitarian situation for Gaza’s population and the remaining hostages,” it added.
Agencies
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