GAZA CITY
\nGaza\u2019s civil defence agency said on Thursday that a rash of Israeli air strikes killed at least 40 people, most of them in encampments for displaced civilians, as Israel pressed its offensive in the Palestinian territory.
\nThe Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the strikes, which came as Hamas officials said that internal deliberations on the latest Israeli truce offer were nearly complete. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said two Israeli missiles hit several tents in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern city of Khan Yunis, resulting in at least 16 deaths, \u201cmost of them women and children, and 23 others were wounded\u201d.
\nAfter Israel declared Al-Mawasi a safe zone in Dec 2023, tens of thousands of Palestinians flocked there seeking refuge from bombardment, but the area has since been hit by repeated Israeli strikes. Survivors described a large explosion at the densely packed encampment zone that set multiple tents ablaze.
\n\u201cWe were sitting peacefully in the tent, under God\u2019s protection, when we suddenly saw something red glowing \u2014 and then the tent exploded, and the surrounding tents caught fire,\u201d Israa Abu al-Rus said.
\n\u201cThis is supposed to be a safe area in Al-Mawasi,\u201d Abu al-Rus said. \u201cWe fled the tent towards the sea and saw the tents burning.\u201d Bassal said that Israeli strikes on two other encampments of displaced Gazans killed a further nine people \u2014 seven in the northern town of Beit Lahia, and a father and son near Al-Mawasi.
\nSeparately, the civil defence reported two more attacks on displaced people in Jabalia \u2014 one that killed at least seven members of the Asaliya family, and another that killed six people at a school being used as a shelter \u2014 as well as Israeli shelling in Gaza City that killed two.
\n\u2018Israel did not abide\u2019
\nQatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said on Thursday that Israel had failed to respect January\u2019s ceasefire agreement in Gaza, as he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
\n\u201cAs you know, we reached an agreement months ago, but unfortunately Israel did not abide by this agreement,\u201d said the ruler of Qatar, a key mediator of the deal.
\nA truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Qatar with Egypt and the United States, came into force on Jan 19, largely halting more than 15 months of fighting triggered by Hamas\u2019s Oct 7, 2023 raid.
\nThe initial phase of the truce ended in early March.
\nPutin recognised Qatar\u2019s \u201cserious efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict\u201d and called deaths in the conflict \u201ca tragedy\u201d. \u201cA long-term settlement can only be achieved on the basis of the UN resolution and first of all connected to the establishment of two states,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Total aid collapse
\nThe humanitarian aid system in Gaza is \u201cfacing total collapse\u201d because of Israel\u2019s blockade on aid supplies since March 2, the heads of 12 major aid organisations warned on Thursday, urging Israel to let them \u201cdo our jobs\u201d.
\nIsrael has vowed to maintain its blockage on humanitarian aid to the conflict-stricken territory, saying it is the only way to force Hamas to release the 58 prisoners still held there.
\n\u201cEvery single person in Gaza is relying on humanitarian aid to survive,\u201d the chief executives of 12 NGOs, including Oxfam and Save the Children, wrote in a joint statement.
\n\u201cThat lifeline has been completely cut off since a blockade on all aid supplies was imposed by Israeli authorities on March 2,\u201d they said, adding that \u201cThis is one of the worst humanitarian failures of our generation.\u201d A survey of 43 international and Palestinian NGOs working in Gaza found that almost all have suspended or drastically cut services since a ceasefire ended in March.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GAZA CITY Gaza\u2019s civil defence agency said on Thursday that a rash of Israeli air strikes killed at least 40 people, most of them in encampments for displaced civilians, as Israel pressed its offensive in the Palestinian territory. The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the strikes, which came as Hamas officials […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":473398,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-473386","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n