Israel announced a new military campaign against Hamas in central Gaza. This is where Palestinian medics said dozens of people had been killed in airstrikes. The strikes have complicated expected talks between mediators to try to finalise a ceasefire deal.
Health officials in the enclave said 44 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military strikes in central Gaza Strip areas.
Israel says it’s carrying out airstrikes in central Gaza
The Israeli military said jets were hitting Hamas militant targets in central Gaza while ground forces were operating “in a focused manner with guidance from intelligence.” This was in the area of Al-Bureij – one of Gaza’s long-established refugee settlements.
An Israeli military statement said: “The forces of the 98th Division began a precise campaign in the areas of East Bureij and East Deir al-Balah, above and below ground at the same time.”
Residents said Israeli forces had sent tanks into Bureij and planes and tanks pounded the nearby settlements of Al-Maghazi and Al-Nuseirat as well as Deir Al-Balah city. This is where the tanks have not invaded.
Hamas says it agrees with the new plan but wants a full ceasefire
Meanwhile, optimism is growing in the US regarding President Biden’s proposed peace plan. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday that “we are waiting for a response from Hamas.”
Qatar said that the proposal was now much closer to the positions of both sides.
Hamas has said it views the contents of the plan positively. It has criticised Washington for attempting to blame it for hampering it.
But a spokesman for Hamas reiterated that it could not agree to any deal unless Israel makes a “clear” commitment to a permanent truce and complete withdrawal from Gaza. Israel says it cannot do that until Hamas is wiped out.
Islamic Jihad delegation visits Cairo
US officials say that since it is an Israeli plan, Israel is likely to accept it. Qatar has said Israel needs to give a clear position on whether the plan represents the whole government. Parts of the Israeli government have opposed any kind of truce.
A delegation of the Hamas-allied Islamic Jihad group arrived in Cairo for ceasefire talks in Wednesday. The delegation led by Islamic Jihad chief Ziad al-Nakhala said it will discuss with Egyptian mediators ways to “end the Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip.”
The new Israeli military campaign in central Gaza forced some families to leave their homes in Al-Maghazi and Al-Burej and head towards Deir Al-Balah. This is already sheltering hundreds of thousands of Gazans displaced by violence elsewhere.
Israel gives update on Rafah operation
The Israeli military also gave an update on Rafah into which Israeli forces entered last month. Israel says it is conducting a limited operation in Rafah. It will root out Hamas’s last intact combat units after almost eight months of war in the Gaza Strip.
The small city fringing Gaza’s southern border with Egypt had been sheltering about one million Palestinians who fled Israeli assaults in other parts of the enclave. Most have fled again in the face of Israel’s tank-led advance.
The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) issued a new plea for a ceasefire on X.
“The war in #Gaza has upended millions of Palestinian lives & caused catastrophic damage to the natural environment that they depend upon for water, clean air, food & livelihoods. Restoring environmental services will take decades – & cannot even start until a #ceasefire.”
With inputs from Reuters
