At least 34 people killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza as ceasefire
prospects inch closer
[June 28, 2025]
By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAM MEDNICK
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least 34 people were killed across
Gaza by Israeli strikes, health staff say, as Palestinians face a
growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and ceasefire prospects inch closer.
The strikes began late Friday and continued into Saturday morning, among
others killing 12 people at the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, which
was sheltering displaced people, and eight more living in apartments,
according to staff at Shifa hospital where the bodies were brought. Six
others were killed in southern Gaza when a strike hit their tent in
Muwasi, according to the hospital.
The strikes come as U.S. President Donald Trump says there could be a
ceasefire agreement within the next week. Taking questions from
reporters in the Oval Office Friday, the president said, “we’re working
on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of.”
An official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press
that Israel's Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, will arrive in
Washington next week for talks on Gaza's ceasefire, Iran and other
subjects. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were
not authorized to speak to the media.
Talks have been on again off again since Israel broke the latest
ceasefire in March, continuing its military campaign in Gaza and
furthering the Strip's dire humanitarian crisis. Some 50 hostages remain
in Gaza, fewer than half of them believed to still be alive. They were
part of some 250 hostages taken when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7,
2023, sparking the 21-month-long war.
The war has killed over 56,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health
Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
It says more than half of the dead were women and children.
There is hope among hostage families that Trump’s involvement in
securing the recent ceasefire between Israel and Iran might exert more
pressure for a deal in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
is riding a wave of public support for the Iran war and its
achievements, and he could feel he has more space to move toward ending
the war in Gaza, something his far-right governing partners oppose.
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Palestinians carry humanitarian aid packages distributed by the Gaza
Humanitarian Foundation operated by the U.S.-backed organization in
Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP
Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Hamas has repeatedly said it is prepared to free all the hostages in
exchange for an end to the war in Gaza. Netanyahu says he will only
end the war once Hamas is disarmed and exiled, something the group
has rejected.
Meanwhile hungry Palestinians are enduring a catastrophic situation
in Gaza. After blocking all food for 2 1/2 months, Israel has
allowed only a trickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May.
Efforts by the United Nations to distribute the food have been
plagued by armed gangs looting trucks and by crowds of desperate
people offloading supplies from convoys.
Palestinians have also been shot and wounded while on their way to
get food at newly formed aid sites, run by the American and Israeli
backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to Gaza's health
officials and witnesses.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli troops have opened fire at crowds
on the roads heading toward the sites. Israel’s military said it was
investigating incidents in which civilians had been harmed while
approaching the sites.
——
Mednick reported from Tel Aviv
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