CAIRO: Israeli planes and tanks bombarded eastern Gaza City overnight, killing at least 11 people, witnesses and medics said on Tuesday (Aug 12), as Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya prepared to hold talks in Cairo aimed at reviving a US-backed ceasefire plan.
The latest round of indirect negotiations in Qatar ended in deadlock in late July, with Israel and Hamas trading blame over the lack of progress on a proposed 60-day truce and hostage release deal.
Israel has since said it will launch a new offensive to seize control of Gaza City, which it captured shortly after the war began in October 2023 before later pulling out.
PLAN DRAWS GLOBAL WARNING ON HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to expand military control over Gaza, expected in October, has fuelled global criticism over the devastation, displacement and hunger affecting the enclave’s 2.2 million people.
It has also stirred dissent in Israel, with the military chief of staff warning the move could endanger surviving hostages and prove a death trap for Israeli soldiers. About one million Palestinians are estimated to remain in Gaza City and surrounding areas.
Foreign ministers of 26 countries, including Britain, Canada, Australia, France, Japan, Italy and Latvia, said on Tuesday the humanitarian crisis in Gaza had reached “unimaginable levels” and urged Israel to allow unrestricted aid.
“Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation,” they said in a joint statement, calling for the opening of all crossings and routes to allow a “flood of aid” including food, water, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies.
Israel denies responsibility for hunger, accusing Hamas of stealing aid. It says it has taken steps to increase deliveries, including pausing fighting in some areas and establishing protected routes for aid convoys. Some countries have begun airdropping supplies over Gaza, while Western capitals say far more aid is urgently required.
TALKS IN EGYPT
A Palestinian official told Reuters that Hamas was ready to return to the negotiating table, and that its leaders visiting Cairo on Tuesday would reaffirm that position. Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News said the delegation had arrived “for consultations on ceasefire talks”.
However, gaps remain over issues such as the extent of any Israeli military withdrawal and Hamas disarmament. A Hamas official said the group was ready to hand over governance to a non-partisan committee, but would not give up its weapons before a Palestinian state is established.
Netanyahu, whose far-right coalition partners want an Israeli takeover of all Gaza, has vowed the war will not end until Hamas is eradicated.
DEATHS IN STRIKES, STARVATION
Gaza’s health ministry said 89 Palestinians were killed in the past 24 hours. Overnight strikes killed seven people in two houses in Gaza City’s Zeitoun suburb and four in an apartment building in the city centre, medics said.
In southern Gaza, five people, including a couple and their child, were killed in a strike on a Khan Younis house, while four others died in an attack on a tent encampment in nearby Mawasi.
The Israeli military said it was checking the reports and that its forces take precautions to limit civilian casualties. It added that dozens of militants had been killed in north Gaza in the past month, and more tunnels destroyed.
Five more people, including two children, died of starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, raising the total to 227 deaths, including 103 children, since the war began, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Israel disputes those figures.
The conflict erupted on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in southern Israel. Israel’s subsequent offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
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