Israeli military kills 15 in Gaza as Trump waits for Hamas response to ceasefire proposal
Health officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, said the Israeli military had carried out an airstrike on a tent encampment west of the city around 2 a.m., killing 15 Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Later on Friday, Palestinians gathered to perform funeral prayers before burying those killed overnight.
"The ceasefire will come, and I have lost my brother? There should have been a ceasefire long ago before I lost my brother," said 13-year-old Mayar Al Farr as she wept. Her brother, Mahmoud, was among those killed.
Trump earlier said it would probably be known in 24 hours whether Hamas has accepted a ceasefire between the Palestinian militant group and Israel.
On Tuesday, the president announced that Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which the parties would work towards ending the war.
Hamas, which has previously declared it would only agree to a deal for a permanent end to the war, has said it was studying the proposal, but given no public indication whether it would accept or reject it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is yet to comment on Trump's ceasefire announcement. While some members of his right-wing coalition oppose a deal, others have indicated their support.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the militant group has so far refused to discuss.
In Tel Aviv, families and friends of hostages held in Gaza were among demonstrators who gathered outside a U.S. Embassy building on U.S. Independence Day, calling on Trump to secure a deal for all of the captives.
Demonstrators set up a symbolic Shabbat dinner table, placing 50 empty chairs to represent those who are still held in Gaza. Banners hung nearby displaying a post by Trump from his Truth Social platform that read, "MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!"
The Sabbath, or Shabbat, observed from Friday evening to Saturday nightfall, is often marked by Jewish families with a traditional Friday night dinner.
"Only you can make the deal. We want one beautiful deal. One beautiful hostage deal," said Gideon Rosenberg, 48, from Tel Aviv.
Rosenberg was wearing a shirt with the image of hostage Avinatan Or, one of his employees who was abducted by Palestinian militants from the Nova musical festival on October 7, 2023. He is among the 20 hostages who are believed to be alive after more than 600 days of captivity.
Ruby Chen, 55, the father of 19-year-old American-Israeli Itay, who is believed to have been killed after being taken captive, urged Netanyahu to return from his meeting with Trump in Washington on Monday with a deal that brings back all hostages.
"Let this United States Independence Day mark the beginning of a lasting peace..., one that secures the sacred value of human life and one that bestows dignity to the deceased hostages by ensuring their return to proper burial,' he said, also appealing to Trump.
Itay Chen, also a German national, was serving as an Israeli soldier when Hamas carried out its surprise attack on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 251 hostage.
Israel's retaliatory war against Hamas has devastated Gaza, which the militant group has ruled for almost two decades but now only controls in parts, displacing most of the population of more than 2 million and triggering widespread hunger.
More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in nearly two years of fighting, most of them civilians, according to local health officials.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Hamas responds 'positively' to 60-day Gaza ceasefire deal, says Palestinian official - in a huge step towards finally ending the 21-month conflict
Hamas has submitted its response to a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal, a Palestinian official said, describing the response as a positive one that should 'facilitate reaching a deal.' US President Donald Trump earlier announced a 'final proposal' for a 60-day ceasefire in the nearly 21-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, stating he anticipated a reply from the parties in coming hours. 'We have handed the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, our response to the ceasefire proposal,' a Hamas official told Reuters on condition of anonymity on Friday. 'The Hamas response is positive and I think it should help and facilitate reaching a deal,' said the Palestinian official close to the talks. The proposal calls for the release of ten living Israeli hostages and 18 bodies in exchange for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners during a 60-day ceasefire, reports The Jerusalem Post. During that period, both sides are expected to hold talks aimed at ending the war. Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed 'to the necessary conditions to finalise' a 60-day ceasefire, during which efforts would be made to end the US ally's war in the Palestinian enclave. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment on Trump's announcement and in their public statements, the two sides remain far apart. The proposal calls for the release of ten living Israeli hostages and 18 bodies in exchange for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners during a 60-day ceasefire Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the militant group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss. Netanyahu is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday. Asked early on Friday US time if Hamas had agreed to the latest ceasefire deal framework, Trump said: 'We are going to know over the next 24 hours.' Trump has said he would be 'very firm' with Netanyahu on the need for a speedy Gaza ceasefire while noting that the Israeli leader wants one as well. 'We hope it's going to happen. And we're looking forward to it happening sometime next week,' he told reporters earlier this week. 'We want to get the hostages out.' Israeli attacks have reportedly killed at least 138 Palestinians in Gaza over the past 24 hours, local health officials said, though these numbers are yet to be officially confirmed. Health officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, said the Israeli military had carried out an airstrike on a tent encampment west of the city around 2am, killing 15 Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war. The Israeli military said troops operating in the Khan Younis area had eliminated militants, confiscated weapons and dismantled Hamas outposts in the last 24 hours, while striking 100 targets across Gaza, including military structures, weapons storage facilities and launchers. Later on Friday, Palestinians gathered to perform funeral prayers before burying those killed overnight. 'There should have been a ceasefire long ago before I lost my brother,' said 13-year-old Mayar Al Farr. Her brother, Mahmoud, was shot dead in another incident, she said. 'He went to get aid, so he can get a bag of flour for us to eat. He got a bullet in his neck. It killed him on the spot,' she said. Adlar Mouamar said her nephew, Ashraf, was also killed in Gaza. 'Our hearts are broken. We ask the world, we don't want want them to end the bloodshed. We want them to stop this war.' In Tel Aviv, families and friends of hostages held in Gaza were among demonstrators who gathered outside a US Embassy building on US Independence Day, calling on Trump to secure a deal for all of the captives. Demonstrators set up a symbolic Sabbath dinner table, placing 50 empty chairs to represent those who are still held in Gaza. Banners hung nearby displaying a post by Trump from his Truth Social platform that read, 'MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!' The Sabbath, or Shabbat, observed from Friday evening to Saturday nightfall, is often marked by Jewish families with a traditional Friday night dinner. 'Only you can make the deal. We want one beautiful deal. One beautiful hostage deal,' said Gideon Rosenberg, 48, from Tel Aviv. In a first visit since the October 7, 2023 massacre 636 days ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu are seen at Kibbutz Nir Oz on July 4, 2025 Rosenberg was wearing a shirt with the image of hostage Avinatan Or, one of his employees who was abducted by Palestinian militants from the Nova musical festival on October 7, 2023. He is among the 20 hostages who are believed to be alive after more than 600 days of captivity. Ruby Chen, 55, the father of 19-year-old American-Israeli Itay, who is believed to have been killed after being taken captive, urged Netanyahu to return from meeting with Trump in Washington on Monday with a deal that brings back all hostages. 'Let this United States Independence Day mark the beginning of a lasting peace... one that secures the sacred value of human life and one that bestows dignity to the deceased hostages by ensuring their return to proper burial,' he said, also appealing to Trump. Itay Chen, also a German national, was serving as an Israeli soldier when Hamas carried out its surprise attack on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 251 hostage. Israel's retaliatory war against Hamas has devastated Gaza, which the militant group has ruled for almost two decades but now only controls in parts, displacing most of the population of more than two million and triggering widespread hunger. More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in nearly two years of fighting, most of them civilians, according to local health officials.
Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
First 'Alligator Alcatraz' inmates arrive at new detention facility...amid warnings the predator-filled area is on verge of flood
President Trump's new 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention facility has admitted its first detainees, amid warnings of flooding in the area where it was built. Footage taken by NBC Miami on Thursday shows what appear to be two handcuffed detainees being escorted into the facility, located deep in the Florida Everglades. The Florida Division of Emergency Management and the office of Republican state Attorney General James Uthmeier confirmed the first group of migrants arrived at the center this week. 'Next stop: back to where they came from,' read an X post by Florida attorney general James Uthmeier, who has been credited as the architect behind the center. The detainees arrived at the facility just as concerns grew over flooding caused by thunderstorms. The facility is located at a place prone to frequent heavy rains, which caused some flooding in the tents Tuesday during a visit by President Donald Trump to mark its opening. State officials say the complex can withstand a Category 2 hurricane, which packs winds of between 96 and 110 mph, and that contractors worked overnight to shore up areas where flooding occurred. DeSantis and other state officials say locating the facility in the rugged and remote Florida Everglades is meant as a deterrent. The Everglades is home to millions of alligators, meaning any migrants who escape will likely find themselves vulnerable to the apex predators. DeSantis named the facility after the notorious federal prison built on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, which was considered inescapable thanks to its position surrounded by the icy and shark-filled waters of San Francisco Bay. According to images shared with the AP, overnight Wednesday, workers put up new signs labeled 'Alligator Alcatraz' along the sole highway leading to the site and outside the entrance of the airfield that has been known as the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport. State officials seized the county-owned land where the facility is located using emergency powers authorized by an executive order issued by the governor. The facility, at an airport used for training, will have an initial capacity of about 3,000 detainees, according to governor Ron DeSantis said. It will apparently be staffed by about 1,000 people. The center was built in eight days and features more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet of barbed wire and 400 security personnel. DeSantis and other state officials say locating the facility in the rugged and remote Florida Everglades is meant as a deterrent Immigrants who are arrested by Florida law enforcement officers under the federal government's 287(g) program will be taken to the facility, according to an official in President Donald Trump's administration. The program is led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and allows police officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation. The facility is expected to be expanded in 500 bed increments until it has an estimated 5,000 beds by early July. A group of Florida Democratic state lawmakers headed to the facility Thursday to conduct 'an official legislative site visit,' citing concerns about conditions for detainees and the awarding of millions of dollars in state contracts for the construction.
Leader Live
39 minutes ago
- Leader Live
What is a proscribed organisation?
On Thursday the House of Lords backed proscribing the group under the Terrorism Act 2000 without a vote. But what is proscription and what does it mean for an organisation to be proscribed? – What is a proscribed organisation? According to the Government website, under the Terrorism Act 2000, the Home Secretary may proscribe an organisation if they believe it is concerned in terrorism, and it is proportionate to do so. Under the law this means the organisation commits or takes part in acts of terrorism, prepares for terrorism, promotes or encourages terrorism (including the unlawful glorification of terrorism), or is otherwise concerned in terrorism. Once an organisation is proscribed it is illegal to join or show support for it. – What does terrorism mean when talking about proscription? As defined in the Act, terrorism means the use or threat of action which involves serious violence against a person, involves serious damage to property, endangers a person's life (other than that of the person committing the act), creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or section of the public or is designed seriously to interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system. The definition also sets out that the use or threat of such action must be designed to influence the government or an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public or a section of the public. Additionally, it must be undertaken for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause. – What factors are taken into consideration when determining whether proscription is proportionate? According to the Government website, the Home Secretary will take into account the nature and scale of an organisation's activities, the specific threat that it poses to the country, and the specific threat that it poses to British nationals overseas. The Home Secretary will also consider the extent of the organisation's presence in the UK, and the need to support other members of the international community in the global fight against terrorism. – Which other groups have been designated as proscribed organisations? There are currently 81 international terrorist groups proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000 and 14 organisations in Northern Ireland proscribed under previous legislation. The most recent proscription orders concerned Hamas, the Wagner Group, Hizb ut Tahrir and Terrorgram. Other organisations on the list include Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), and various aliases, and al Qaida. – Once an organisation is proscribed, what becomes illegal? It becomes a criminal offence to belong, or profess to belong, to a proscribed organisation in the UK or overseas, or invite support for a proscribed organisation. It is also illegal to express an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation, reckless as to whether a person to whom the expression is directed will be encouraged to support a proscribed organisation, express an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation, reckless as to whether a person to whom the expression is directed will be encouraged to support a proscribed organisation. Other offences include arranging, managing or assisting in arranging or managing a meeting in the knowledge that the meeting is to support or further the activities of a proscribed organisation. It is also an offence to wear clothing or carry or display articles in public in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that the individual is a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation, or publish an image of an item of clothing or other article, such as a flag or logo, in the same circumstances. – Once proscribed, will an organisation remain banned forever? No. The Home Secretary will consider deproscription on application only. The law allows any organisation or any person affected by a proscription to submit a signed, written application to the Home Secretary requesting that they consider whether a specified organisation should be removed from the list of proscribed organisations.
