The Israeli army attacked several areas in the Gaza Strip, including Rafah, today, a day after an urgent appeal by international mediators for Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas to conclude a peace deal to end the war that has lasted more than seven months.
In the south of Gaza, “Apache” helicopters, according to eyewitnesses, opened fire on the center of Rafah, and the southern and western parts of the city were also targeted.
In the north, Gaza City was attacked from the air, killing three Palestinians, including a woman and a child, in a bombing that destroyed their home in the Al Daraj neighborhood, a hospital source said.
The Israeli military announced that it was carrying out targeted operations in Rafah and central Gaza, and that “30 terrorist targets, including weapons depots and armed cells” had been targeted in the past 24 hours.
Hostilities continue despite urgent calls for a ceasefire, and according to the Hamas Health Ministry, at least 36,439 people have died in the Gaza Strip so far.
The mediators in the truce negotiations, Qatar, the US and Egypt, jointly called on Hamas and Israel on Saturday to finalize the agreement based on the principles presented by US President Joseph Biden.
On Friday, Biden presented a so-called road map with the aim of achieving a permanent ceasefire in stages and under certain conditions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then confirmed Israel’s conditions for a permanent ceasefire – the destruction of Hamas and the release of hostages.
He is under great pressure from two far-right ministers who are threatening to quit the government if the fighting stops before Hamas is destroyed.
Meanwhile, many Israelis continue to protest in the streets demanding an agreement to release the hostages.
Hamas said it had considered Biden’s proposal, reiterating its demands for a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, terms Israel has rejected.
