\u2018Safe\u2019 evacuation zone of Deir al-Balah is hit amid some of the deadliest fighting in the war
\nGaza
\nThe Gaza Strip is facing some of the deadliest fighting to date in the present war as Israel expands its offensive just days after the UN security council passed a resolution calling for more aid and urgent steps for a sustainable ceasefire.
\nMore than 100 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes late on Sunday in the centre of the besieged Palestinian territory, including at least 70 in bombings that hit a residential block in the Maghazi refugee camp near Deir al-Balah, health officials in the Hamas-run area said.
\nDeir al-Balah was also hit overnight despite previously being identified by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as an \u201cevacuation zone\u201d for Palestinians fleeing the fighting.
\nThe Palestinian Red Crescent published footage from al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, in Deir al-Balah, showing a dazed and bloodied girl covered in dust being checked for injuries. There were also dozens of white body bags.
\nAt the scene of the attack on Maghazi, people screamed and shouted in the dark as they tried to dig for survivors from the rubble.
\n\u201cWe were all targeted,\u201d Ahmad Turkomani, who lost several family members, including his daughter and grandson, told the Associated Press. \u201cThere is no safe place in Gaza anyway.\u201d
\nThe Israeli military said it was reviewing the Maghazi incident.
\nThe latest casualties came after an announcement from the Gaza health ministry that Israeli airstrikes had killed 166 Palestinians in 24 hours, one of the single deadliest days of the 12-week-old conflict.
\nMore than 20,400 Palestinians have been killed since Israel declared war in response to the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel, in which militants killed 1,140 people and seized another 240 as hostages.
\nFor Israel, the war has also exacted what Benjamin Netanyahu called on Sunday a \u201cvery heavy cost\u201d \u2013 15 Israeli soldiers have been killed in intense ground skirmishes with Hamas since Friday, bringing the total to 156 combat losses.
\nDespite Friday\u2019s UN security council resolution calling for urgent action from all parties to work towards a ceasefire, fighting on the ground has only intensified since the collapse of a seven-day truce at the start of December.
\nIsrael has expanded its operations into the southern half of the 365-sq-km strip, raising fears for the territory\u2019s 2.3 million residents, almost all of whom have already sought shelter south of the Gaza River after being told by the Israeli army it would be safer there.
\nOver the weekend Israel\u2019s military chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, said his forces had largely achieved operational control in the north of Gaza, and would broaden its offensive further into the south, but residents still present in Gaza City and the north\u2019s Jabalia camp said the fighting had worsened.
\nDetails emerged on Monday of a ceasefire proposal put forward by Egypt, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas.
\nThe three-stage plan would entail an initial cessation of hostilities of at least a week and the release of all remaining Israeli civilian hostages held in Gaza; then a week in which female soldiers would be released in return for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails; and finally a month-long negotiation period for release of male soldiers in exchange for Israeli withdrawal.
\nIsrael\u2019s security cabinet was expected to discuss the Egyptian proposal on Monday. Hamas has so far rejected all initiatives that do not involve a complete ceasefire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2018Safe\u2019 evacuation zone of Deir al-Balah is hit amid some of the deadliest fighting in the war Gaza The Gaza Strip is facing some of the deadliest fighting to date in the present war as Israel expands its offensive just days after the UN security council passed a resolution calling for more aid and urgent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376799,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-376780","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n