Israeli Air Strike Kills Eight in Gaza as Truce Talks Continue

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that an Israeli air strike on Sunday targeted a house and a tent sheltering displaced people, killing at least eight, including five children, as Palestinians observed the first day of Eid al-Fitr. The strike occurred amid ongoing mediation efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

“There are eight martyrs, including five children, following a pre-dawn Israeli air strike on a house and a tent sheltering displaced people in Khan Yunis,” Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence agency, told AFP. The attack came as both Hamas and Israel acknowledged receiving a new truce proposal from mediators aimed at halting hostilities during the holiday.

A fragile truce that had provided weeks of relative calm in the Gaza Strip collapsed on March 18 when Israel resumed its aerial bombardment and ground offensive in the Palestinian territory. Since then, mediation efforts led by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States have continued in an attempt to broker a ceasefire and secure the release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

A senior Hamas official stated on Saturday that the group had approved a new ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators and urged Israel to support it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed receipt of the proposal and stated that Israel had submitted a counterproposal in response. However, the details of the latest mediation efforts remain undisclosed.

The ongoing war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. During the attack, militants also abducted 251 individuals, 58 of whom remain in captivity, including 34 whom the Israeli military says are deceased.

Since the Hamas attack, Israel’s military campaign against the Palestinian group has killed at least 50,277 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The humanitarian toll has intensified international calls for a ceasefire, though a resolution remains elusive.

As hostilities persist, diplomatic efforts continue to broker a lasting truce, with mediators pushing for both sides to reach an agreement that could halt the violence and allow humanitarian aid to reach those in need.