Zürcher Nachrichten - Gaza civil defence says Israeli strikes kill over 40 as truce talks deadlocked

Delegations from Israel and the Palestinian militant group have now spent a week trying to agree on a temporary truce to halt 21 months of bitter fighting in the Gaza Strip.

But on Saturday, each side accused the other of blocking attempts to secure an agreement at the indirect talks in the Qatari capital, Doha.

There has meanwhile been no let-up in Israeli strikes on Gaza, where most of the population of more than two million have been displaced at least once during the war.

Seven UN agencies on Saturday warned that a fuel shortage had reached "critical levels", threatening aid operations, hospital care and already chronic food insecurity.

Civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said at least 43 people were killed in the latest Israeli strikes, including 11 when a market in Gaza City was hit.

Eight children were among 10 victims of a drone strike at a water point in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, Bassal said.

"We woke up to the sound of two large explosions," Khaled Rayyan told AFP after a house was flattened also in Nuseirat. "Our neighbour and his children were under the rubble."

Another resident, Mahmud al-Shami, called on the negotiators to secure an end to the war.

"What happened to us has never happened in the entire history of humanity," he said. "Enough."

In southern Gaza, three people were killed when Israeli jets hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the coastal Al-Mawasi area, the civil defence spokesman said.

- 150 targets in 24 hours -

There was no comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations across Gaza.

But it said in a statement Sunday that in the past 24 hours fighter jets "struck more than 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip".

The targets included militants, weapons storage sites, and anti-tank and sniper positions, the military statement said.

The war was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that led to 1,219 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 that the Israeli military says are dead.

Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry says that at least 58,026 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel's military reprisals. The UN considers the figures reliable.

- Forced displacement fears -

Talks to agree a 60-day ceasefire in the fighting and hostage release were in the balance on Saturday after Israel and Hamas accused each other of trying to block a deal.

Hamas wants the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but a Palestinian source with knowledge of the talks said Israel had presented plans to maintain troops in more than 40 percent of the territory.

The source said Israel wanted to force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into the south of Gaza "in preparation for forcibly displacing them to Egypt or other countries".

A senior Israeli official said Israel had demonstrated "a willingness to flexibility in the negotiations, while Hamas remains intransigent, clinging to positions that prevent the mediators from advancing an agreement".

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is prepared to enter talks for a more lasting end to hostilities once a temporary truce is agreed, but only if Hamas disarms.

Thousands of people gathered in Israel's coastal hub of Tel Aviv on Saturday calling for the release of the hostages.

"The window of opportunity... is open now and it won't be for long," said former captive Eli Sharabi.

Y.Keller--NZN