CAIRO: Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed 15 people on Wednesday, some of them in a school housing displaced people, medics in Gaza said, adding that the fatalities included two sons of a former Hamas spokesman.

Health officials in the enclave said eight Palestinians were killed and dozens of others wounded in an Israeli strike that hit the Al-Tabeaeen School, which was sheltering displaced families in Gaza City. Among those killed were two sons of former Hamas spo­kesman, Fawzi Barhoum, accor­ding to medics and Barhoum himself.

In the Shejaia suburb of Gaza City, another strike killed four people, while three people were killed in an Israeli air strike in Beit Lahiya on the northern edge of the enclave where army forces have been operating since last month.

Israel’s 13-month campaign in Gaza has left nearly 44,200 people dead and displaced nearly all the enclave’s population at least once, according to Gaza health officials.

NSA Sullivan says Biden to launch Gaza ceasefire drive

Gaza ceasefire

Months of attempts to negotiate a ceasefire have yielded scant progress and negotiations are now on hold, with mediator Qatar saying it has told the two warring parties it would suspend its efforts until the sides are prepared to make concessions.

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday his administration was pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza and that it was possible that Saudi Arabia and Israel could normalise relations.

His national security adviser said on Wednesday that President Biden will launch a renewed for a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner release deal, now that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a truce in Lebanon. The truce that began before dawn on Wednesday in the south Lebanon war means Hezbollah is no longer fighting in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.

That will increase pressure on the Palestinian group to agree to a ceasefire and prisoner deal, Jake Suillivan told MSNBC.

Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu right before the US- and French-brokered truce with Hezbollah was announced on Tuesday and they agreed to try again for a Gaza agreement that has eluded negotiators for months, Sullivan said.

“President Biden intends to begin that work today by having his envoys engage with Turkiye, Qatar, Egypt and other actors in the region,” Sullivan said.

“We believe that this is the beginning of an opportunity for a more stable Middle East in which Israel’s security is assured and US interests are secured,” he added.

The Israel-Hezbollah deal was a rare boost for Biden as he prepares to leave the White House and hand over to Donald Trump on January 20. As he announced the agreement on Tuesday, Biden said the United States, Turkiye, Egypt, Qatar and Israel would make another push for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2024