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Israeli Strikes Kill Dozens in Gaza Strip as New Ceasefire Talks Begin

A Palestinian woman reacts at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 4, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian woman reacts at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 4, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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Israeli Strikes Kill Dozens in Gaza Strip as New Ceasefire Talks Begin

A Palestinian woman reacts at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 4, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian woman reacts at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 4, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

An Israeli military strike killed 12 people in a house in Gaza City early on Saturday, bringing the death toll from strikes across Gaza to 62 over the last day, Palestinian medics said, as mediators launched a new ceasefire push in Qatar.

Residents and medics said at least 14 people had been in the house of the Al-Ghoula family when the strike took place in the early hours, destroying the building, Reuters reported.

People scoured the rubble for possible survivors trapped under the debris and medics said several children were among those killed. A few flames and trails of smoke continued to rise from burning furniture in the ruins hours after the attack.

"At about 2 a.m. (00:00 GMT) we were woken up by the sound of a huge explosion," said Ahmed Ayyan, a neighbour of the Al-Ghoula family, adding that 14 or 15 people had been staying in the house.

"Most of them are women and children, they are all civilians, there is no one there who shot missiles, or is from the resistance," Ayyan told Reuters.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the incident.

The military said in a statement on Saturday that its forces had continued their operations this week in Beit Hanoun town in the northern edge of the enclave, where the army has been operating for three months, and had destroyed a military complex that had been used by Hamas.

Later on Saturday, an Israeli airstrike killed three people in a car east of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, medics said. Dozens of Palestinians were killed in strikes on Friday, bringing the death toll during the past 24 hours to 62, health officials said.

A surge in Israeli operations and the number of Palestinians killed in recent days comes amid a renewed push to reach a ceasefire in the 15-month-old war and return Israeli hostages before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Israeli mediators were dispatched to resume talks in Doha brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and US President Joe Biden's administration, which is helping to broker the talks, urged Hamas on Friday to agree to a deal.

Hamas said it was committed to reaching an agreement but it was unclear how close the two sides were.

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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)

The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

The moves deal a blow to the RSF's attempts to burnish its image and assert legitimacy - including by installing a civilian government- as the paramilitary group seeks to expand its territory beyond the roughly half of the country it currently controls.

The RSF rejected the measures.

"America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong. Today, it is rewarding those who started the war by punishing (RSF leader) General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, which is also wrong," said an RSF spokesman when reached for comment.

The war in Sudan has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF. It has also carried out mass looting campaigns across swathes of the country, arbitrarily killing and sexually assaulting civilians in the process.

The RSF denies harming civilians and attributes the activity to rogue actors it says it is trying to control.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.

"The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities," Blinken said.

Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him and his family from travelling to the US and freezing any US assets he might hold. Financial institutions and others that engage in certain activity with him also risk being hit with sanctions themselves.

It had previously sanctioned other leaders, as well as army officials, but had not sanctioned Dagalo, known as Hemedti, as attempts to bring the two sides to talks continued.

Such attempts have stalled in recent months.

"As the overall commander of the RSF, Hemedti bears command responsibility for the abhorrent and illegal actions of his forces," the Treasury said.

Sudan's army and RSF have been fighting for almost two years, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies struggle to deliver relief. More than half of Sudan's population faces hunger, and famine has been declared in several areas.

The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the army and RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

Blinken said in the statement that "both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan and lack the legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan."

The US has sanctioned army leaders as well as individuals and entities linked to financing its weapons procurement. Last year, Blinken accused the RSF and the army, which has carried out numerous indiscriminate air strikes, of war crimes.