The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says around 9,500 people, mostly women and children have since been killed in Israeli strikes and the intensifying ground campaign
November 05, 2023 06:48 am | Updated 06:50 am IST
Palestinians comfort a crying man after losing relatives under the rubble of a destroyed house following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
AP
On Saturday, two strikes hit a U.N. school-turned-shelter just north of Gaza City, killing several people in tents in the schoolyard and women who were baking bread inside the building, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Israel’s military said it had encircled Gaza City, the target of its offensive to crush Hamas, but on Saturday offered a three-hour window for residents trapped by the fighting to flee south.
Also read | Israel-Hamas war, Day 29 updates
The new attacks came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the region seeking ways to ease the plight of civilians caught in the fighting. He met with Arab Foreign Ministers on Saturday in Jordan, the day after talks in Israel with PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who insisted there could be no temporary cease-fire until all hostages held by Hamas are released.
Egyptian officials said they and Qatar were proposing humanitarian pauses for six to 12 hours daily to allow aid in and casualties to be evacuated. They were also asking for Israel to release a number of women and elderly prisoners in exchange for hostages held by Hamas — suggestions Israel seems unlikely to accept.
About 1.5 million people in Gaza, or 70% of the population, have fled their homes, according to the U.N. With food, water and the fuel needed for generators that power hospitals and other facilities running out, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged an immediate cease-fire to allow aid in.
(With inputs from agencies)
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November 05, 2023 06:50
Over 30 killed in Israeli bombing on Al-Maghazi camp in Gaza: Hamas-run Health Ministry
More than 30 people were killed in an Israeli bombing on a refugee camp in central Gaza late Saturday, the Hamas-run health ministry there said, amid ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas militants.
“More than 30 (dead) arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the massacre committed by the occupation in Al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip,” health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra said in a statement.
Hamas said in a statement posted on Telegram that Israel had “directly” bombed citizens’ homes, adding that most of the dead were women and children.
– AFP