Around 60 dead were discovered beneath the debris of a Gaza City neighborhood, Hamas-run officials claimed Thursday, after Israel’s military declared an end to its assault there.
The increase in fighting, bombardment, and displacement in Shujaiya’s eastern region coincided with talks in mediator Qatar to reach a truce and release hostages.
US President Joe Biden told reporters that his government was “making progress” toward a cease-fire agreement and called for an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
His statement came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that Israel maintain control of important Gaza area along the Egyptian border, which contradicts Hamas’ insistence that Israel must withdraw from all Gaza territory during a cease-fire.
Gaza’s civil defense ministry reported that over 60 bodies had been discovered beneath the rubble in Shujaiya during some of Gaza City’s most intense fighting in months.
According to Hamas, Israel’s raid left “more than 300 residential units and more than 100 businesses destroyed”.
Mohammed Nairi, a Shujaiya resident, said he and others who returned to the neighbourhood witnessed “immense destruction that defies description.” All of the houses were demolished.
Israel’s military announced on Wednesday that it had completed its mission in Shujaiya after two weeks, although bombardment and fighting continued in Gaza City.
Witnesses reported that tanks and personnel had moved on to other parts of the city.
An AFP correspondent reported air strikes on the Sabra neighborhood and fierce fighting between terrorists and Israeli forces in Tel al-Hawa.
Hamas reported 45 air strikes in Gaza City and Rafah, where Netanyahu had stated that the war’s most severe phase was nearing an end.
‘Difficult, complex issues’
Netanyahu’s office acknowledged that his negotiating delegation, led by Mossad intelligence chief David Barnea, returned to Israel after discussions with mediators in Doha on Thursday.
Speaking after the team returned, Netanyahu stated that Israel needs control of the Palestinian side of Gaza’s border with Egypt to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas.
He added that Israel must be allowed to continue fighting until its war goals of eliminating Hamas and returning home all hostages are met.
In Washington, Biden noted that “difficult, complex issues” remain between Israel and Hamas, but that progress is being made toward a cease-fire agreement.
“In retrospect, there are many things I wish I could have convinced the Israelis to do, but the basic line is that we now have a chance. “It’s time to end this war,” he stated following a NATO summit.
On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that Israel and Hamas had “signalled their acceptance of a ‘interim governance’ plan” under which neither would administer the land and a US-trained force of Palestinian Authority loyalists would provide security.
The Pentagon has also declared that it will shortly put a stop to its troubled mission to send aid to Gaza by sea from Cyprus, which has repeatedly been hampered by weather.
Meanwhile, the UN’s health agency said that only five medical supply trucks were allowed into Gaza last week.
“More than 34 of our trucks are waiting at the Al Arish crossing, and 850 pallets of medical goods are ready for collection. “Another 40 trucks are waiting at Ismailiya in Egypt,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated Friday on social media platform X.
According to an AFP assessment based on Israeli numbers, Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel triggered the conflict and killed 1,195 people, the majority of whom were civilians.
The extremists also took captives, 116 of whom are still in Gaza, 42 of whom are believed to be dead by the IDF.
Israel reacted with a military onslaught that killed at least 38,345 people in Gaza, the majority of them were civilians, according to estimates from the Gaza Health Ministry.
‘Dangerous combat zone’
On Wednesday, the Israeli army dropped leaflets warning “everyone in Gaza City” that it would “remain a dangerous combat zone”.
The fliers advised inhabitants to depart and provided designated escape routes from the area where the UN humanitarian office estimated up to 350,000 people were sheltering.
According to the UN, the recent evacuations will only exacerbate immense misery for Palestinian families, many of whom have been relocated multiple times and are in “critical need.”
Hamas official Hossam Badran told AFP that Israel was “hoping that the resistance will relinquish its legitimate demands” during peace talks.
However, “the continuation of massacres compels us to adhere to our demands” , according to him.
Israel’s military claimed operations were also ongoing in the Rafah area, where “dozens” of militants had been killed over the previous day.
The military said it reacted with air and ground attacks after five rockets were launched from the area toward Israel on Thursday.
Separately, the military confirmed Thursday that it “failed” to safeguard Kibbutz Beeri, where more than 100 people were killed during Hamas’ October 7 strikes.
According to a summary of the investigation, which was made public after being presented to kibbutz inhabitants, the military response was “lack of coordination”.