At least 81 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, as Trump reiterates calls for ceasefire
US President Donald Trump has reiterated calls for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, as Gaza's health authorities said 81 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, he wrote: 'MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!'
It comes as an Israeli official said plans were being made for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to travel to Washington DC in the coming weeks, a sign there may be movement on a new deal.
On Friday, Trump raised expectations Friday for a deal, saying there could be a ceasefire agreement within the next week.
Taking questions from reporters, he said, 'We're working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of.'
Despite an eight-week ceasefire reached just as Trump was taking office earlier this year, attempts since then to bring the sides toward a new agreement have failed.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military on Sunday ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians in large swaths of northern Gaza, an early target of the war that has been severely damaged by multiple rounds of fighting.
Col. Avichay Adraee, a military spokesperson, posted the order on social media. It includes multiple neighbourhoods in eastern and northern Gaza City, as well as Jabaliya refugee camp.
The military will expand its escalating attacks to the city's northern section, calling for people to move southward to the Muwasi area in southern Gaza, Adraee said.
Hundreds of thousands of people are in northern Gaza following their return during a ceasefire earlier this year.
In Iran, at least 71 people were killed in an Israeli attack on Tehran's Evin prison, Iran's judiciary said.
The attack took place on 23 June and hit several prison buildings and prompted concerns from rights groups about the safety of the inmates.
Evin prison is a notorious facility where many political activists have been held.
Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir posted on the office's official Mizan news agency website Sunday that those killed included staff, soldiers, prisoners and members of visiting families.
Iran had not previously announced any death figures.
On Sunday, Iran confirmed that top prosecutor Ali Ghanaatkar, whose prosecution of dissidents, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, led to widespread criticism by human rights groups, had been killed in the attack and would be buried at a shrine in Qom.
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