49 killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza over 24 hours, as mediators
scramble to restart ceasefire
[April 26, 2025]
By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least 49 people were killed by
Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, according to health officials, as
Arab mediators scrambled to restart a ceasefire.
An airstrike in a neighborhood in western Gaza City early Saturday
morning, flattened a three-story house, killing 10 people, according to
a cameraman cooperating with The Associated Press. The number was
confirmed by Gaza’s Health Ministry, along with three more people who
were killed in the Shati refugee camp along the city's shoreline.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the strikes.
The attacks come as Hamas said on Saturday that it sent a high-level
delegation to Cairo to try and get the stalled ceasefire back on track.
Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas last month and has vowed to continue
the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is destroyed, or
disarmed and sent into exile. It says it will hold parts of Gaza
indefinitely and implement President Donald Trump’s proposal for the
resettlement of the population in other countries, which has been widely
rejected internationally.
Hamas has said it will only release the dozens of hostages it holds in
return for Palestinian prisoners, a complete Israeli withdrawal and a
lasting ceasefire, as called for in the now-defunct agreement reached in
January.
Hamas said Saturday that the delegation will discuss with Egyptian
officials the group's vision to end the war, which includes the complete
withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and reconstruction.
Earlier this week, other Hamas officials arrived in Cairo to discuss a
proposal that would include a five-to-seven year truce and the release
of all remaining hostages, officials said.
Egypt and Qatar are still developing the proposal, which would include
the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of
Palestinian prisoners, according to an Egyptian official and a Hamas
official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to brief media.
[to top of second column]
|
Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli airstrike early
this morning on Yaffa School, in Gaza City, Wednesday, April 23,
2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Meanwhile, Israel has continued its nearly two-month blockade on Gaza
even as aid groups warn that supplies are dwindling.
On Friday, the World Food Program said its food stocks in Gaza had run
out, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians in the territory. The WFP said in a statement that it
delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports
around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in
the coming days.
About 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily
on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under
Israel’s blockade, according to the U.N. The WFP has been supporting 47
kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer
Etefa told The Associated Press.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and
children, according to the Health Ministry, which does not say how many
of the dead were fighters or civilians. Israel says it has killed around
20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on
Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting
251. The militants still have 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be
alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or
other deals.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
