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At least 18 killed in Israeli Gaza strikes, Palestinian medics say

At least 18 killed in Israeli Gaza strikes, Palestinian medics say
A woman mourns the death of a loved one following an Israeli strike on the UNWRA Al-Majda Wasila Governmental School housing displaced Palestinians, on Al-Jalaa Street in Gaza on Dec. 14, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 14 December 2024

At least 18 killed in Israeli Gaza strikes, Palestinian medics say

At least 18 killed in Israeli Gaza strikes, Palestinian medics say
  • Casualties were being carried by foot, on rickshaws and private cars from the site of the attack to the hospital
  • The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 44,930 people have been killed in more than 14 months of war

CAIRO: At least 18 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Saturday, medics said, while the Israeli military said it targeted gunmen operating from shelters and aid storages.
At least 10 people were killed in an airstrike near the municipality building in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip where people gathered to receive aid, medics said.
Casualties were being carried by foot, on rickshaws and private cars from the site of the attack to the hospital, medics said. The strike killed the head of the Hamas-run administrative committee in central Gaza, a Hamas source said.
The Israeli military was looking into the report, a spokesperson said. Earlier, Israeli aircraft struck militants and weapon caches near an aid warehouse, the military said, after gunmen had fired rockets into Israel from there.
Meanwhile, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 44,930 people have been killed in more than 14 months of war. The toll includes 55 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 106,624 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began.
A separate strike in Gaza City on a former shelter housing displaced people targeted Hamas fighters, the military said. At least seven people were killed in that attack, Palestinian medics said, including a woman and her baby.
It was unclear whether any of the other people killed were fighters. The military said it had taken precautions to reduce risk of harm to civilians.
A separate strike in Gaza City killed a local journalist, medics said. The military was looking into the report, a spokesperson said.
The war in Gaza began when the Palestinian militant group Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200, mostly civilians, people and taking more than 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel then launched an air, sea and land offensive that has killed at least 44,000 people, mostly civilians, according to authorities in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, displaced nearly the entire population and left much of the enclave in ruins.
A fresh bid by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to reach a truce has gained momentum in recent weeks.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Saturday discussed with visiting US officials efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostages-for prisoners deal in the Palestinian enclave, El-Sisi’s office said.


Israeli leaders voice opposition to Palestinian state before UN Gaza vote

Israeli leaders voice opposition to Palestinian state before UN Gaza vote
Updated 59 min 6 sec ago

Israeli leaders voice opposition to Palestinian state before UN Gaza vote

Israeli leaders voice opposition to Palestinian state before UN Gaza vote
  • The draft resolution would follow up on the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas
  • Unlike previous drafts, the latest version of the resolution mentions a possible future Palestinian state

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his government underscored their opposition to a Palestinian state ahead of a UN Security Council vote Monday on a resolution endorsing a US-backed Gaza peace plan.
The draft resolution would follow up on the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas brokered by US President Donald Trump, giving the council’s blessing for a transitional administration and a temporary international security force in the devastated territory.
Unlike previous drafts, the latest version of the resolution mentions a possible future Palestinian state, which the Israeli government is vehemently against.
“Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory has not changed,†Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
Netanyahu had come in for criticism from coalition members, including far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who had accused him of failing to respond to a recent wave of recognition of Palestinian statehood by Western countries.
“Formulate immediately an appropriate and decisive response that will make it clear to the entire world – no Palestinian state will ever arise on the lands of our homeland,†Smotrich urged Netanyahu on X.
The premier replied Sunday that he did “not need affirmations, tweets, or lectures from anyone.â€
Other ministers likewise expressed their opposition to Palestinian statehood, though none explicitly referred to the resolution.
“Israel’s policy is clear: no Palestinian state will be established,†Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X Sunday.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also said on X that the country would “not agree to the establishment of a Palestinian terror state in the heart of the Land of Israel.â€
Far-right firebrand and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir went even further, calling the Palestinian identity an “invention.â€
The Security Council resolution would effectively usher in the second phase of the US-backed deal reached last month, which brought about a ceasefire after two years of war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The first phase has seen the release of the last 20 living Israeli hostages and nearly all of the 28 dead captives held by Palestinian militants.
In exchange, Israel has freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and returned 330 bodies.