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Scores Killed in Overnight Strikes as Hamas Weighs Gaza Truce Proposal

Concerns over a potential Israeli ground incursion into Rafah have mounted in recent days. Mohammed ABED / AFP
Concerns over a potential Israeli ground incursion into Rafah have mounted in recent days. Mohammed ABED / AFP
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Scores Killed in Overnight Strikes as Hamas Weighs Gaza Truce Proposal

Concerns over a potential Israeli ground incursion into Rafah have mounted in recent days. Mohammed ABED / AFP
Concerns over a potential Israeli ground incursion into Rafah have mounted in recent days. Mohammed ABED / AFP

Scores were reported killed in overnight strikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, after Hamas said it needed more time to consider a proposal that would halt its war with Israel in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said early Sunday that at least 92 people had been killed overnight, including in what the group's media office said was an Israeli bombardment of a kindergarten in Rafah where displaced people were sheltering, AFP reported.
Concerns over a potential Israeli ground incursion into the southern border city have mounted in recent days, with hundreds of thousands of displaced seeking refuge from the fighting there in makeshift shelters and encampments.
Many made the journey from even harder-hit areas after being told the city was a safe zone, but strikes have continued there as well, with mourners gathering outside a local hospital Saturday to pray for the dead after another bombardment.
"The children were just sleeping and suddenly the bombardment happened. The bedroom fell on my children. God took one of my children and three escaped death," Ahmad Bassam al-Jamal told AFP, his voice breaking. "My child now is a martyr in heaven."
The city that had been home to 200,000 people now hosts more than half of Gaza's population, the United Nations said.
A representative of the UN humanitarian agency OCHA has called Rafah "a pressure cooker of despair", expressing concern for what might happen next.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned on Thursday that the military -- which began its ground invasion in the territory's north and has gradually advanced south -- "will also reach Rafah".
Civilians who fled to the city have been pushed up against the border with Egypt, trying to avoid areas exposed to bombardment and fighting in nearby Khan Yunis.
"We are exhausted," said displaced Gazan Mahmud Abu al-Shaar, urging "a ceasefire so that we can return to our homes".
Push for a deal
International mediators are making a full-court press to seal a proposed truce deal thrashed out last week in Paris.
But a top Hamas official in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, said on Saturday that the proposed framework was missing some details.
Hamas needed more time to "announce our position", Hamdan said, "based on... our desire to put an end as quickly as possible to the aggression that our people suffer".
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Hamas also seized around 250 hostages, and Israel says 132 remain in Gaza, including at least 27 believed to have been killed.
Vowing to eliminate Hamas, Israel launched a massive military offensive that has killed at least 27,238 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make his fifth crisis visit to the Middle East in the coming days to push for the truce proposal, the State Department has said, and French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne is also making a pass through the region, according to a spokesman.
A Hamas source has said the proposal involves an initial six-week pause that would see more aid delivered into Gaza and exchanges of some Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Hamas's leader Ismail Haniyeh has said any ceasefire must lead to "a full withdrawal" of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Domestic pressure
The Israeli government's inability to secure the hostages' release, as well as the intelligence failures that allowed the October 7 attacks to happen in the first place, have led to harsh criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
Hundreds rallied on Saturday night in Tel Aviv at protests calling for early elections and to demand action to free the remaining hostages.
Demonstrations were also held in the northern Israeli port of Haifa and near Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence.
In Tel Aviv, anti-government protester Michal Hadas told AFP that dragging out the conflict only served the interests of government officials, "because as long as the war continues there will be no election".
At the rally for hostages' families, Carmit Palty Katzir, sister of captive Elad Katzir, called for swifter action.
"Every second a deal is not closed, the price goes up. The number of hostages who won't return alive goes up. The number of soldiers risking their lives without a clear plan for the day after goes up," she said.
Fresh Yemen strikes
The war has sent regional tensions soaring, with a surge in attacks by Iran-backed groups in solidarity with Gaza triggering counterattacks by key Israel ally the United States.
The United States and its coalition partner Britain said they struck dozens of targets in Yemen on Saturday night in response to repeated attacks on shipping by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
US forces also struck an additional anti-ship missile in Yemen on Sunday morning that the US Central Command said was ready to be launched towards the Red Sea.
The joint air raids came after a separate wave of unilateral American strikes against Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria that were carried out in response to the killing of three US soldiers in Jordan on January 28.
The Israeli army, meanwhile, said on Saturday that it had struck more than 3,400 Hezbollah militant targets across southern Lebanon since the start of
the war, as well as more than 50 targets linked to the Iran-backed Hamas allies in Syria.

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Arab World

A 10-day Ceasefire Agreed on By Israel and Lebanon Goes into Effect

A man stands on a damaged part of the Qasmiyeh Bridge that was targeted by an Israeli airstrike near Tyre, southern Lebanon, 16 April 2026. EPA/STRINGER
A man stands on a damaged part of the Qasmiyeh Bridge that was targeted by an Israeli airstrike near Tyre, southern Lebanon, 16 April 2026. EPA/STRINGER
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A 10-day Ceasefire Agreed on By Israel and Lebanon Goes into Effect

A man stands on a damaged part of the Qasmiyeh Bridge that was targeted by an Israeli airstrike near Tyre, southern Lebanon, 16 April 2026. EPA/STRINGER
A man stands on a damaged part of the Qasmiyeh Bridge that was targeted by an Israeli airstrike near Tyre, southern Lebanon, 16 April 2026. EPA/STRINGER

A 10-day truce began in Lebanon on Friday that could pause fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and boost attempts to extend the ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel after weeks of devastating war.

US President Donald Trump announced the agreement as a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. However, Israel has not been fighting with Lebanon itself, but rather with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants inside the country, who were not formally part of the agreement, The Associated Press said.

Barrages of gunshots rang out across Beirut as residents fired into the air just after midnight to celebrate the beginning of the truce.

Displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, despite warnings by officials not to attempt to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire “to advance” peace efforts with Lebanon, but said Israeli troops would not withdraw.

Israeli forces have engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah in the border area as they pushed into southern Lebanon to create what officials have called a “security zone.” Netanyahu, in his video address, said it will extend 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanon.

“That is where we are, and we are not leaving,” he said.

Hezbollah said that “Israeli occupation on our land grants Lebanon and its people the right to resist it, and this matter will be determined based on how developments unfold” — a stance that could complicate the ceasefire.

Israel reserves right to defend itself

The US State Department said that according to the agreement, Israel reserves the right to defend itself “at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.” But otherwise, Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets.”

The wording suggested Israel would maintain the freedom to strike at will, as it did in the months following the ceasefire that ended the previous war. This time, Hezbollah said it would respond to any strikes by Israel.

It's unclear when the 1 million people displaced by the war will be able to safely return.

Lebanon’s state-run National News agency reported that Israeli shelling continued in the villages of Khiam and Dibbine about a half hour after the truce went into effect. Israel’s military said it was looking into reports of shelling and artillery fire in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah kept firing rockets at northern Israeli towns and communities right up to the start of the ceasefire. Air raid sirens went off in some often-targeted border towns less than 10 minutes before midnight.

Flurry of diplomacy

The agreement came after a meeting between Israel's and Lebanon’s ambassadors in Washington and a flurry of subsequent phone calls from Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a White House official.

They were the first direct diplomatic talks between the two countries in decades. Hezbollah had opposed direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.

Trump spoke Wednesday evening with Netanyahu, who agreed to a ceasefire with certain terms, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Rubio then called Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, who got on board. Trump then spoke with Aoun, and again with Netanyahu.

The State Department worked with both governments to formulate a memorandum of understanding for the truce.

“May have been a historic day for Lebanon. Good things are happening!!!” Trump said in a social media post.

Trump extends White House invitation

Lebanon has insisted on a ceasefire to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah before engaging in more talks, while vowing to commit to disarming the group.

Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Lebanon remains deeply divided over diplomatic engagement with Israel.

Trump also invited the leaders of Israel and Lebanon to the White House for what he said would be “the first meaningful talks" between the countries since 1983.

“Both sides want to see PEACE, and I believe that will happen, quickly,” Trump wrote on social media.

Lebanon and Israel signed an agreement in 1983 saying Lebanon would formally recognize Israel, and Israel would withdraw from Lebanon. The deal fell apart during Lebanon’s civil war and was formally rescinded a year later.

A Hezbollah official said the ceasefire was a result of Iran’s negotiations with the US, in which Iran had insisted Lebanon be included in its own ceasefire, and came about through efforts by mediator Pakistan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Pakistan army chief meets with Iranian parliament speaker

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of international efforts to press for an extension to a ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the US and Iran.

It was unclear whether the frantic diplomacy could lead to a lasting deal before the ceasefire ends next week. The Iran war has killed thousands of people and upended global markets by disrupting the flow of oil.

Iranian state television did not provide details on the meeting between Pakistani Army Gen. Asim Munir and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, his country’s chief negotiator.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan, a key mediator after hosting the talks between the US and Iran that authorities said helped narrow differences between the sides.

The White House said any further talks regarding Iran would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations. The fragile ceasefire is holding despite a US naval blockade of Iranian ports and Iranian counter-threats to target regional ports across the Red Sea.

Trump suggested the ceasefire could be extended.

“If we’re close to a deal, would I extend?” Trump said in an exchange with reporters. “Yeah, I would do that.”

The war has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as shipping has been cut off and airstrikes have pounded military and civilian infrastructure. Oil prices have fallen amid hopes for an end to fighting, and US stocks on Wednesday surpassed records set in January.

Officials say US and Iran are making progress

Even as the US blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats strained the ceasefire, regional officials reported progress, telling AP the United States and Iran had an “in-principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.

But tensions simmered.

The commander of Iran’s joint military command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the US does not lift its naval blockade, and a newly appointed military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he does not support extending the ceasefire.

Mediators seek compromise on sticking points

The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen US service members have also been killed.

Mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points: Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

Since the war began, Iran has curtailed maritime traffic through the strait, which a fifth of global oil transited through in peacetime. Tehran’s effective closure of the strait sent oil prices skyrocketing, raising the cost of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the Middle East.

Arab World

Libya, US Hold Talks on Money Laundering, Terror Financing

Libya central bank governor (left) with US assistant secretary of state (central bank)
Libya central bank governor (left) with US assistant secretary of state (central bank)
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Libya, US Hold Talks on Money Laundering, Terror Financing

Libya central bank governor (left) with US assistant secretary of state (central bank)
Libya central bank governor (left) with US assistant secretary of state (central bank)

Anti-money laundering measures dominated talks in Washington between governor of the Central Bank of Libya Naji Issa and US officials, as prosecutors pursue corruption cases.

The central bank said Issa outlined efforts to strengthen anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing systems, expand electronic payments, and introduce unconventional monetary tools in line with international standards, steps it said have boosted confidence among global financial institutions.

Late on Wednesday, the bank said Issa and his delegation met several officials, including Robert B. Thomson, Visa's vice chairman, in talks aimed at expanding electronic payment services and advancing financial inclusion in Libya, while tightening oversight of financial transactions in line with international standards.

Libya ranks among the world’s five most corrupt countries, according to recent estimates by Transparency International. The country fell to 177th out of 182 states in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index.

The central bank said Issa also attended a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan group, MENAP, with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, on the sidelines of the 2026 Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington.

Discussions focused on slowing global growth, inflationary pressures, and challenges tied to commodity and energy prices.

The bank added that it received an official invitation from the US State Department and held a high-level meeting in Washington with Kyle Liston, a US State Department official. It quoted him as praising the governor and the bank’s board, calling their efforts “a model to be emulated in financial management despite compelling circumstances.”

Separately, Libya’s Anti-Financial Crimes, Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Agency said it dismantled a local network and arrested five bank employees over embezzlement and manipulation of a customer account.

Investigators said the suspects abused their positions to load international cards with $12,000 and carry out transfers worth 63,000 dinars without the account holder’s knowledge, placing his name on suspicion lists. The official exchange rate is 6.33 dinars to the dollar.

The public prosecutor said electronic tracking and financial analysis linked the case to a wider network that used data from more than 200,000 people in an organized money-laundering scheme. The suspects were referred to the anti-corruption prosecution, and authorities said strict oversight would be enforced to protect the economy.

In a related ruling, the Tripoli Court of Appeal sentenced a former director of international marketing at the National Oil Corporation to 10 years in prison, fined him more than $1.825 billion, and permanently stripped him of his civil rights, after convicting him of serious violations in oil marketing and fuel supply.

The attorney general’s office said the case stems from charges that the official failed to collect payments for crude oil and petroleum products sold between 2010 and 2017, and approved contracts in 2013 to supply gasoline that did not meet Libyan standards.

Arab World

Tension, Veiled Threats Mark al-Hayya’s Meeting with US Official in Cairo

People mourn next to the bodies of Palestinian brothers Abdel Malek and Abdel Sattar Al-Attar, who were killed in an Israeli strike, according to medics, during their funeral, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, April 16, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
People mourn next to the bodies of Palestinian brothers Abdel Malek and Abdel Sattar Al-Attar, who were killed in an Israeli strike, according to medics, during their funeral, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, April 16, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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Tension, Veiled Threats Mark al-Hayya’s Meeting with US Official in Cairo

People mourn next to the bodies of Palestinian brothers Abdel Malek and Abdel Sattar Al-Attar, who were killed in an Israeli strike, according to medics, during their funeral, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, April 16, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
People mourn next to the bodies of Palestinian brothers Abdel Malek and Abdel Sattar Al-Attar, who were killed in an Israeli strike, according to medics, during their funeral, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, April 16, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Cairo is seeing renewed diplomatic momentum on Gaza, with mediators working to narrow gaps between Hamas and Israel, alongside the United States and Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza at the Board of Peace.

A meeting in Cairo on Tuesday brought together Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya and US diplomat Aryeh Lightstone, now a senior adviser to the Board of Peace.

A Hamas source said the meeting was not pre-arranged. It was meant to include only al-Hayya and Mladenov before Lightstone joined unexpectedly, along with US General Jasper Jeffers, who left shortly after. Egyptian mediators pushed for the talks.

The meeting was the first between Hamas and a US official since the Gaza ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, 2025.

Negotiations remain stalled. Hamas and other factions insist Israel must first meet its first-phase commitments, especially humanitarian measures and aid entry, before any further steps. Israel and the United States are pressing for an immediate shift to phase two, centered on disarmament.

Sources said mediators are trying to break the deadlock with a parallel approach, completing the remaining first-phase steps while opening talks on the second, with implementation tied to Israel’s full compliance. One source said proposals call for gradual, conditional progress on disarmament.

Tense exchanges

Four Hamas sources and one from another Palestinian faction said the meeting was tense at times.

A senior Hamas source said the US official used strong language, accusing Hamas of delaying disarmament and demanding a full handover of weapons within 24 hours.

The source said al-Hayya praised US President Donald Trump's efforts to halt the war but did not respond directly. Some Hamas delegates left Cairo for consultations, while al-Hayya stayed at Egypt’s request to review a revised mediation proposal.

Sources said both Mladenov and the US side sought a fully signed commitment from Hamas and Gaza factions to disarm under a Board of Peace plan, before completing the humanitarian phase, and without clear timelines or guarantees for Israel.

Hamas conditions

Hamas and allied factions outlined five key demands.

They called for full implementation of phase one as a test of Israel’s intent. They also demanded that Gaza’s administrative committee be allowed to operate and meet urgent civilian needs.

They urged the dismantling of armed groups set up by Israel. They also called for the deployment of international forces east of the “yellow line” to replace Israeli troops, with a timetable for withdrawal to Gaza’s eastern border.

They further demanded the launch of a comprehensive political process on the Palestinian issue.

A Hamas official said the 90-minute meeting was generally positive but failed to bridge gaps. He cited periods of tension and what he described as implicit threats from Lightstone and Mladenov of a return to war if factions refused to fully disarm.

He said the two officials conveyed what they described as Israeli approval to meet first-phase commitments, including curbing violations and expanding aid, but only if disarmament came first, a condition al-Hayya rejected.

No breakthrough

Sources said talks are at a standstill, with no clear progress, as Israel ties first-phase implementation to disarmament.

Three Hamas sources abroad, including one in Cairo, said the delegation remains firm, and Israel must fully implement phase one before any move to phase two.

They said Mladenov recently returned from Israel with assurances that it would improve humanitarian conditions and honor phase one if Hamas agreed to disarm. One source said the approach seeks to sidestep Israel’s obligations.

The sources pointed to unfulfilled promises to restore crossings to pre-war levels after the Iran war, which began in late February. Aid deliveries fluctuated this week.

About 323 trucks entered on Monday, falling to around 280 the next day and dropping further on Wednesday, despite mediator assurances that crossings would improve to about 600 trucks daily, as outlined in the ceasefire.

One source said Israel, the United States, and the Board of Peace, represented by Mladenov, are trying to link disarmament only to aid entry, without commitments on reconstruction or other obligations.