Israel-Gaza war live: Israeli forces kill 23, Gaza authorities say, amid IDF warning of major offensive in north
Date: 2025-06-30T06:39:58.000Z
Title: Opening summary
Content: Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed 23 people in Gaza on Sunday, the territory's civil defence agency said, as tens of thousands of Palestinian people were fleeing eastern parts of Gaza City after Israel warned of a major assault on the north.
Agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said at least three children were among those killed in airstrikes at five locations around Gaza and another person died from Israeli fire near an aid distribution centre.
On Gaza City in the north, messages on social media from the Israel Defense Forces warned of 'military operations [that] will escalate, intensify and extend westward to the city centre' and directed those living in several crowded neighbourhoods to al-Mawasi, a coastal area much farther south that is already overcrowded and has very limited facilities.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos as entire families tried to pack their remaining belongings, tents and meagre stocks of foods on to donkey carts, bicycles, improvised pickup trucks and cars, my colleague Jason Burke reports.
In other developments:
Mahmud Bassal said two children were killed in an airstrike on their home in Gaza City's Zeitun neighbourhood early on Sunday and 'the house was completely destroyed'. A member of the family, Abdel Rahman Azzam, 45, told AFP he was at home and 'heard a huge explosion at my relative's house'. 'I rushed out in panic and saw the house destroyed and on fire.'
Bassal said a drone strike on a tent housing displaced people near the southern city of Khan Younis killed five people including a child. Other casualties included a young man killed 'by Israeli fire this morning while waiting for aid' near a humanitarian distribution centre in the southern city of Rafah, the Gaza civil defence spokesperson said.
Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Sunday his country's 'victory' over Iran in their 12-day war had created 'opportunities', including for freeing hostages held in Gaza. The main group representing hostages' families welcomed 'the fact that after 20 months, the return of the hostages has finally been designated as the top priority by the prime minister'.
Donald Trump reiterated calls for a swift end to Israel's war on Gaza. 'Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back,' the US president posted on his Truth Social platform.
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Qatar and Egypt, are continuing but without clear sign of a breakthrough.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Trump warns Hamas - and claims Israel has agreed to 60-day ceasefire in Gaza
Donald Trump has said Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, and is urging Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. The US president announced the development ahead of hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House next week. He has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to work out a ceasefire and hostage agreement to end the war. "My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War," Mr Trump wrote on social media - adding that Qatari and Egyptian officials would deliver the final proposal. "I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better - IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE." Analysis: Many unanswered questions remain In the long Gaza war, this is a significant moment. For the people of Gaza, for the hostages and their families - this could be the moment it ends. But we have been here before, so many times. The key question - will Hamas accept what Israel has agreed to: a 60-day ceasefire? At the weekend, a source at the heart of the negotiations told me: "Both Hamas and Israel are refusing to budge from their position - Hamas wants the ceasefire to last until a permanent agreement is reached. Israel is opposed to this. At this point only President Trump can break this deadlock." The source added: "Unless Trump pushes, we are in a stalemate." The problem is that the announcement made now by Donald Trump - which is his social-media-summarised version of whatever Israel has actually agreed to - may just amount to Israel's already-established position. We don't know the details and conditions attached to Israel's proposals. Would Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza? Totally? Or partially? How many Palestinian prisoners would they agree to release from Israel's jails? And why only 60 days? Why not a total ceasefire? What are they asking of Hamas in return? We just don't know the answers to any of these questions, except one. We do know why Israel wants a 60-day ceasefire, not a permanent one. It's all about domestic politics. If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to agree now to a permanent ceasefire, the extreme right-wingers in his coalition would collapse his government. Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have both been clear about their desire for the war to continue. They hold the balance of power in Mr Netanyahu's coalition. If Mr Netanyahu instead agrees to just 60 days - which domestically he can sell as just a pause - then that may placate the extreme right-wingers for a few weeks until the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is adjourned for the summer. It is also no coincidence that the US president has called for Mr Netanyahu's corruption trial to be scrapped. Without the prospect of jail, Mr Netanyahu might be more willing to quit the war safe in the knowledge that focus will not shift immediately to his own political and legal vulnerability.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Trump claims Israel ready for Gaza peace deal in bid to boost Hamas ceasefire talks
Donald Trump has claimed that Israel is ready to agree to a peace deal with Hamas as he seeks to broker a ceasefire to the war in Gaza that has claimed almost 60,000 lives. In a post on Truth Social, the US president wrote: 'Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War.' He said representatives for Qatar and Egypt will deliver 'this final proposal' to Hamas. There was no immediate official response from Israel or Hamas to Trump's post. It is unclear what conditions specifically Israel has agreed to and Trump's previous claims that Israel was ready to end the war, including a ceasefire negotiated before his inauguration in January, have quickly broken down as both sides have accused the other of violating agreements on prisoner exchanges. Nonetheless, the claim comes after Trump brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, and on the same day as Israel's strategic affairs minister, Ron Dermer, reportedly met US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. 'The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal,' Trump wrote. 'I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.' Trump told reporters earlier in the day that he was hopeful that a ceasefire-for-hostages agreement could be achieved next week between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. He is set to meet Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday. Trump and his aides appear to be seeking to use any momentum from US and Israeli strikes on Iran nuclear sites, as well as a ceasefire that took hold last week in that war, to secure a lasting truce in the war in Gaza. Trump told reporters during a visit to Florida that he would be 'very firm' with Netanyahu on the need for a speedy Gaza ceasefire. 'We hope it's going to happen. And we're looking forward to it happening sometime next week,' he told reporters. 'We want to get the hostages out.' Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza under any deal to end the war. Israel says the war can end only if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. The two sides have shown little sign of a readiness to budge from their entrenched positions. Talk of a 'final proposal' for a ceasefire comes after a horrific Israeli attack at the Al-Baqa cafe on the Gaza seafront on Monday that medical and other officials said killed between 24 and 36 Palestinians, including children. The Israel-Gaza war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,500 Palestinians, mostly civilians – though experts say this is likely to be an undercount, – displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population and reduced much of the territory to rubble.
Sky News
3 hours ago
- Sky News
Trump says Israel has agreed on terms for 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, and has warning for Hamas
Donald Trump has said Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, and is urging Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. The US president announced the development ahead of hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House next week. He has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to work out a ceasefire and hostage agreement to end the war. "My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War," Mr Trump wrote on social media - adding that Qatari and Egyptian officials would deliver the final proposal. "I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better - IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE." It comes as Israel's minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, was in Washington for talks with senior administration officials to discuss a potential ceasefire in Gaza, as well as Iran and other matters. Mr Dermer was expected to meet Vice President JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff. Analysis: Trump wants to be seen as a peacemaker US correspondent @skydavidblevins This development is significant, but it's not entirely surprising. Behind the scenes, the Israelis have been indicating for a while that they were prepared to sign up to a 60-day ceasefire. The extremists in Benjamin Netanyahu's government are not prepared to accept a permanent truce - so if he were to sign up to that, he risks collapsing his entire government. Sixty days takes them to the point where the Israeli parliament is in recess, so it is much safer for him, politically speaking. But Hamas has always been adamant that it wants a permanent end to the violence in Gaza, and there's no indication at this stage that the organisation is prepared to compromise. So this is Donald Trump piling the pressure on Hamas ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington next Monday. He's hoping he may be in a position at that stage to announce a ceasefire in Gaza - hard on the heels of having brokered an agreement between Israel and Iran. Mr Trump ultimately wants to continue to proclaim himself as the peacemaker in this region. Earlier in the day, Mr Trump told reporters he is hopeful a ceasefire-for-hostages agreement can be achieved between Israel and Hamas next week. Hamas has said it is willing to free the remaining hostages in Gaza under a deal to end the war, while Israel has said the conflict can only end if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled.
