Israel intensifies attacks on Gaza amid renewed ceasefire. gaza news

At least eight people have been killed in an Israeli attack on a school housing displaced Palestinians in northern Gaza, as Israel sent several senior officials to negotiate a possible ceasefire.

Eight civilians, including two women and two children, were killed in an Israeli strike on the Zainab al-Wazir school in the Jabaliya al-Balad area of ​​northern Gaza on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service.

“The Israelis targeted us without any warning,” a mother told Al Jazeera as she searched through the debris. “They attacked us with missiles. I don’t know where our children are. “I don’t know anything about them, whether they are injured or killed.”

Al Jazeera’s Moath al-Kahlout described the scenes at al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City as “bloody” and “horrific”, noting the shortage of medical supplies under Israel’s ongoing siege of northern Gaza, where Dozens of injured were taken away. Existed for more than 80 days.

Later on Saturday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported attacks at various locations across Gaza, including an attack on a house in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City, killing four Palestinians and wounding several others. .

Israeli warplanes also bombed a tent sheltering displaced families in Deir al-Balah, located in the center of the enclave, killing three people, Wafa reported.

Additional attacks reportedly killed one person near the Burij refugee camp in central Gaza and another in the southern city of Khan Yunis.

The intensified attacks came as Egypt, Qatar and the United States made renewed efforts to reach an agreement to end fighting in Gaza and free remaining Israeli detainees in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

‘Tough stuck point’

On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who visited Qatar earlier in the week.

News agency Reuters quoted Egyptian security sources as saying that Witkoff had assured Egyptian and Qatari mediators that the US would continue to work towards a fair agreement to end the war quickly.

Following the meeting, Netanyahu sent a high-level delegation to Qatar, including the head of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency, to “advance” the talks, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.

“There are a lot of moving parts here,” said Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from the Jordanian capital Amman.

“Donald Trump has said that if there is not a ceasefire before he takes office, he will be very aggressive in trying to get a ceasefire… but you have to remember that there are difficult issues on each side,” he said.

“The Israelis say they are not going to end the war, and Hamas says they want to see a comprehensive ceasefire that includes an end to the war and a withdrawal of Israeli troops.

“And you also have the Israeli public, who is continuously demonstrating against Benjamin Netanyahu, against the Israeli government, and saying that he is neither able nor willing to make any compromise after fifteen months in this war. “

Families of Israeli detainees welcomed Netanyahu’s decision to send officials, with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters calling it a “historic opportunity”.

‘Impossible to survive’

As mediators prepare for more ceasefire talks, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said Palestinians under attack in Gaza were also suffering severe food shortages, with Israel calling on the United Nations to lift the embargo on supplies into the strip. Continued to ignore the demands.

“We are seeing children searching for community kitchens with empty utensils every day,” said Khoudri, reporting from Deir al-Balah, speaking to families saying they can barely afford to feed their children one dish per day. Able to feed on time.”

“Not only frequent airstrikes, but also malnutrition is killing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” he said.

Vibe Klarup, head of Amnesty Denmark, said Israel was committing “genocide”.

“When we say Israel is committing genocide, it is not an opinion, it is a conclusion based on legal, thorough analysis,” he told the European Palestinian Network conference in Copenhagen.

“It is becoming impossible to survive in the Gaza Strip…Our role as a people is to stop the genocide,” he said.

At least 46,537 people have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to Palestinian health officials.