Several Killed in Israeli Airstrike North Gaza Town amid Ceasefire Disputes

Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway (File photo)
Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway (File photo)
TT

Several Killed in Israeli Airstrike North Gaza Town amid Ceasefire Disputes

Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway (File photo)
Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway (File photo)

At least five Palestinians were killed, including two local journalists, and others wounded on Saturday in an Israeli strike on Gaza's northern Beit Lahiya town, medics told Reuters, as Hamas' leaders hold Gaza ceasefire talks with mediators in Cairo.

Several were critically injured as the strike hit a car, with casualties inside and outside the vehicle, the medics added.

Witnesses and fellow journalists said the people in the car were on a mission for a charity called Al-Khair Foundation in Beit Lahiya, and they were accompanied by journalists and photographers when the strike hit them.

The incident underscores the fragility of the January 19 ceasefire agreement that halted large-scale fighting in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian health officials say dozens of people have been killed by Israeli fire despite the truce.

Responding to some of the incidents reported by Gaza medics, the Israeli military says its forces have intervened to thwart threats by "terrorists" approaching its forces or planting bombs on the ground near where forces operate.

Since a temporary first phase of the ceasefire expired on March 2, Israel has rejected opening the second phase of talks, which would require it to negotiate over a permanent end to the war, the main demand of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The incident coincided with a visit by Hamas' exiled Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, to Cairo for further ceasefire talks aimed at resolving disputes with Israel that could risk a resumption of fighting in the enclave.

On Friday, Hamas said it had agreed to free an American-Israeli dual national if Israel begins the next phase of ceasefire talks towards a permanent end to the war, an offer Israel dismissed as "psychological warfare."

Hamas said it had made the offer to release New Jersey native Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier in the Israeli army, after receiving a proposal from mediators for negotiations on the second phase of a ceasefire deal.

Israel says it wants to extend the ceasefire's temporary first phase, a proposal backed by US envoy Steve Witkoff. Hamas says it will resume freeing hostages only under the second phase.

The war began when Hamas carried out a cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and reduced much of the territory to rubble and led to accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies.



Israel Says Not Committed to Hamas Ceasefire, Only to Safe Corridor for US Hostage Release

Houthi supporters gather around a large Palestinian flag during an anti-US and anti-Israel protest in Sana'a, Yemen, 09 May 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
Houthi supporters gather around a large Palestinian flag during an anti-US and anti-Israel protest in Sana'a, Yemen, 09 May 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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Israel Says Not Committed to Hamas Ceasefire, Only to Safe Corridor for US Hostage Release

Houthi supporters gather around a large Palestinian flag during an anti-US and anti-Israel protest in Sana'a, Yemen, 09 May 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
Houthi supporters gather around a large Palestinian flag during an anti-US and anti-Israel protest in Sana'a, Yemen, 09 May 2025. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

Israel has not agreed to any ceasefire or release of prisoners with Hamas, but only to a safe corridor to allow the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.

Israel was informed a day earlier of Hamas' decision to release Alexander, the last surviving US hostage, as a goodwill gesture towards President Donald Trump after four-way talks between Hamas, the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

The release, which could come as early as Monday, could open the way to freeing the rest of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza, but Netanyahu said Israeli forces would continue recently announced preparations to step up operations there, reported AFP.

"The negotiations will continue under fire, during preparations for an intensification of the fighting," his office said in a statement.

On Sunday, Hamas said it had been talking with the United States and had agreed to release Alexander, a move key Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt called an encouraging step towards a return to ceasefire talks in the war-torn enclave.

The talks came shortly before Trump is set to leave for a visit to the Gulf that will not include a stop in Israel.

US officials have tried to calm fears in Israel of a growing distance between Israel and Trump, who last week announced an end to a US campaign against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, who have continued to fire missiles at Israel.

Families of the hostages and their supporters in Israel have pressed the government to reach a deal to secure the release of those still held in Gaza but Netanyahu has faced heavy pressure from hardliners in his cabinet not to end the war.

Last week, he announced plans to step up the operation in Gaza, which officials said could be seized entirely by Israeli forces.