Israeli Military Delegation in Doha to Restore Gaza Calm

Smoke and flame are seen during an Israeli airstrike in Gaza March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Smoke and flame are seen during an Israeli airstrike in Gaza March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
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Israeli Military Delegation in Doha to Restore Gaza Calm

Smoke and flame are seen during an Israeli airstrike in Gaza March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Smoke and flame are seen during an Israeli airstrike in Gaza March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

An Israeli military delegation visited Doha to advise Hamas movement officials there to restore calm in the Gaza Strip, intelligence sources in Tel Aviv said.

The Israeli government has tasked the military leadership to deal with the escalation of cross-border violence in Gaza, in collaboration with the National Security Council in the office of the Prime Minister, headed by Meir Ben Shabat, who is close to Benyamin Netanyahu, the sources said.

They confirmed that the military, currently in talks with Egypt to step up de-escalation efforts, decided to increase the role of Qatar in the mediation with Hamas.

Israeli Major General Herzi Halevi, the chief of the Southern Command, visited Doha along with other officers from the Army, the Shabak, the Mossad and the National Security Council.

“The delegation worked on negotiating an agreement or a ceasefire accepted by Hamas leaders residing in the Qatari capital, mainly Ismail Haniyeh and Saleh al-Arouri,” the sources said.

The intelligence sources said that Hamas leaders take Israeli threats to assassinate party figures seriously.

In recent weeks, groups affiliated with Hamas have launched incendiary balloons into Israel, igniting farmland in a bid to pressure Israel to ease the blockade it imposed on Gaza when the militants seized power in 2007. Rocket attacks have also marked a significant escalation as Israel responds with airstrikes.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars and several smaller battles over the last 13 years. Neither side is believed to be seeking war, but any casualties could ignite a wider conflict.



94 Palestinians Killed in Gaza, Including 45 People Waiting for Aid

A Palestinian inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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94 Palestinians Killed in Gaza, Including 45 People Waiting for Aid

A Palestinian inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian inspects the damage at a school sheltering displaced people, following an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Airstrikes and shootings killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza overnight, including 45 while attempting to get much-needed humanitarian aid, hospitals and the Health Ministry said Thursday.

Israel’s military did not have immediate comment on the strikes, The Associated Press reported.

Five people were killed while outside sites associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the newly created, secretive American organization backed by Israel to feed the Gaza Strip’s population, while 40 others were killed waiting for aid trucks in other locations across the Gaza Strip.

Dozens of people were killed in airstrikes that pounded the Strip Wednesday night and Thursday morning, including 15 people killed in strikes that hit tents in the sprawling Muwasi zone, where many displaced Palestinians are sheltering, and a strike on a school in Gaza City sheltering displaced people.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has passed 57,000, including 223 missing people who have been declared dead. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its death count but says that more than half of the dead are women and children.

The deaths come as Israel and Hamas inch closer to a possible ceasefire that would end the 21-month war.

Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. But Hamas’ response, which emphasized its demand that the war end, raised questions about whether the latest offer could materialize into an actual pause in fighting.

The Israeli military blames Hamas for the civilian casualties because it operates from populated areas. The military said it targeted Hamas members and rocket launchers in northern Gaza that launched rockets towards Israel on Wednesday.

The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages.

The war has left the coastal Palestinian territory in ruins, with much of the urban landscape flattened in the fighting. More than 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has been displaced, often multiple times. And the war has sparked a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, leaving hundreds of thousands of people hungry.