Israeli air strikes on three houses in the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed 13 people and wounded many others, according to the media reports. Hamas media outlets put the death count at 15. In Gaza City, in the north of the strip, Israeli planes struck two houses, killing and wounding many people, said health officials.
The strikes on Rafah, where over a million people are sheltering from months of Israeli bombardment, came hours before Egypt was expected to host leaders of the Islamist group Hamas to discuss prospects for a ceasefire agreement with Israel. The war was started by an attack by Hamas militants on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 and taking 253 hostages.
Israel has promised to eradicate Hamas, which controls Gaza, in a military operation that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, 66 of them in the past 24 hours. The war has displaced most of the 2.3 million population and laid much of the enclave to waste.
On Sunday, Hamas officials stated a delegation, led by Khalil Al-Hayya, the group’s deputy Gaza chief, would discuss a ceasefire proposal handed by Hamas to mediators from Qatar and Egypt, as well as Israel’s response.
Two Hamas officials did not disclose details of the latest proposals, but a source briefed on the talks told Hamas is expected to respond to Israel’s latest truce proposal delivered on Saturday.
According to the media sources this included an agreement to accept the release of fewer than 40 hostages in exchange for releasing Palestinians held in Israeli jails and to a second phase of a truce that includes a period of sustained calm Israel’s compromise response to a Hamas demand for a permanent ceasefire.
After the first phase, Israel would allow free movement between south and north Gaza and a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
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