According to the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, an Israeli strike near a hospital in Rafah resulted in the death of over ten people.
An extremist organizationA source revealed that a Hamas delegation was set to travel to Cairo on Saturday to continue discussions regarding the Gaza truce. The source, who chose to remain anonymous, stated that the delegation would be meeting with Egyptian negotiators.
The Egyptian state-affiliated al-Qahera News reported that the truce discussions would resume in Cairo on Sunday.
A source from AFP disclosed that the delegation would give Hamas an official response to the agreement proposal discussed with Israeli negotiators in Paris in late February.
Egyptian, Qatari, and American negotiators have also participated in the truce discussions along with Hamas and Israel. The goal is to reach a ceasefire agreement before Ramadan, which starts in about a week. The Muslim holy month is expected to begin around March 10 in the region.
A US official, who also wished to remain anonymous, stated on Saturday that Israel had more or less accepted the proposal for a ceasefire. The official suggested that it is now Hamas’s move.
However, Israel has not officially confirmed its acceptance of the ceasefire agreement.
The United States and Qatar have expressed their hope for the truce to take effect as early as next week. However, US President Joe Biden stated on Thursday that reaching an agreement might take longer.
At leastEleven people died in an Israeli strike near a hospital in Rafah, Gaza, as reported by the Health Ministry of Hamas-ruled Gaza on Saturday.
According to the Health Ministry, the strike targeted tents housing civilians. Ministry Spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra stated in a press release that a paramedic was among those killed and around 50 people, including children, were injured.
The Israeli armed forces claimed that they carried out a precision strike on Islamic Jihad extremist group fighters near the hospital.
The armed forces stated, “The precision strike was carried out against Islamic Jihad and did not cause any damage to the hospital in the area.”
An AFP reporter witnessed injured individuals being rushed to another hospital in Rafah.
World Health Organization Director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, condemned the bombing of the tents as outrageous and indescribable. He emphasized that children and health workers are not targets and need protection.
Approximately 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge in Rafah, southern Gaza, where Israel has planned a ground attack. The Israeli military claims to have a plan to evacuate civilians before the attack, but the details remain undisclosed.
In Gaza the majority of the victims from Thursday’s violence sustained gunshot wounds, as reported by the UN team that visited the hospital in Gaza on Friday.
UN staff delivered medicine and fuel to al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, where many Palestinians injured in Thursday’s shelling are being treated.
Representative of the UN Secretary General António Guterres, Stéphane Dujarric, did not know if the team had been able to examine the bodies of the deceased.
The group visiting the hospital was comprised of representatives from the WHO, UNICEF, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
According to the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, over a hundred people were killed when Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians seeking aid. The ministry also reported that over 700 people were wounded or injured.
Israeli sources confirmed to AFP that Israeli soldiers did open fire. They claimed that the gathered civilians near the aid trucks posed a threat.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office, under Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed that most people were either trampled or crushed under trucks while trying to forcibly obtain relief supplies.
UN Secretary General Guterres and several countries have called for an independent investigation into Thursday’s events.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health reports that Israel has killed over 30,300 people in Gaza.
