Israel kills 27 in Gaza as Hamas is reviewing new US ceasefire proposal - War on Gaza
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 27 people in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Friday, while Hamas was reviewing a new Israeli-approved US ceasefire proposal after giving it an initial response.
A strike that hit a tent in the southern city of Khan Younis killed 13, including eight children, hospital officials said.
Meanwhile, the bodies of 12 people, including three women, were brought to Shifa Hospital on Friday from the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the bodies of two others were brought to a hospital in Gaza City.
Those figure does not include some hospitals in the north, which are largely cut off due to the Israeli occuption forces incrusion.
Experts say a nearly three-month Israeli blockade of Gaza — slightly eased in recent days — has pushed the population of roughly 2 million Palestinians to the brink of famine.
Gaza is "the hungriest place on Earth", the United Nations said Friday, warning that the Palestinian territory's entire population was now at risk of famine.
Later, the UN condemned the "looting of large quantities of medical equipment" and other supplies "intended for malnourished children" from one of its Gaza warehouses by armed individuals.
Some Gaza residents said their hope for a ceasefire is tempered by repeated disappointment over negotiations that failed to deliver a lasting deal.
"This is the war of starvation, death, siege and long lines for food and toilets,' Mohammed Abed told The Associated Press in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah. 'This war is the 2025 nightmare, 2024 nightmare and 2023 nightmare.'
Abed said he and his family struggle to find food, waiting three hours to get a small amount of rice and eating only one meal daily.
Negotiations to end nearly 20 months of war have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming its war in Gaza in March, ending a six-week truce.
US President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy had expressed optimism this week about brokering an agreement that could halt the Israeli war on Gaza, allow more aid into the besieged strip, and return more of the 58 Israelis held in Gaza.
A Hamas official said Thursday that the new US plan fell short of its demands, but that it was still studying the proposal.
Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim said Israel's response meant "the continuation of killing and famine... and does not meet any of our people's demands, foremost among them halting the war and famine. Nonetheless, the movement's leadership is studying the response to the proposal with full national responsibility."
In a statement, Hamas said it was "reviewing the proposal responsibly, aiming to achieve the interests of Palestinians, provide humanitarian relief, and secure a permanent ceasefire in Gaza."
Israel on Friday said Hamas must accept the deal in Gaza or "be annihilated".
Israel's war on Gaza – which the International Court of Justice and human rights groups have characterised as genocidal – has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Thousands more remain missing under the rubble.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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