Dozens of Israeli strikes hit the Gaza Strip over the weekend as Israeli and Hamas officials resumed ceasefire talks mediated by Qatar.
Israel’s military said on Sunday it hit more than 100 gunshots across the region over the weekend, including areas where soldiers fired artillery into Israeli territory. It says the strikes have killed Hamas fighters and the military has taken steps to reduce the risk of civilian casualties. The claims could not be independently verified.
The Department of Health in Gaza said in a statement on Sunday that 88 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours. The Gaza Civil Defense, an emergency agency, said its personnel responded to several strikes on family homes on Sunday in which many people were killed and injured.
Pressure has been mounting on both sides to reach a ceasefire deal that would include the release of hostages held in Gaza before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
On Friday night, Hamas said its officials would resume meetings in the Qatari capital, Doha, to reach a ceasefire agreement. And Israel said last week it had also sent a delegation of mid-level security officials to meet with mediators in Qatar.
Many previous talks have vacillated between the gaps sought by both sides. And as hopes of a deal between Israel and Hamas rise again, Palestinians and human rights groups say the humanitarian situation in Gaza is worsening.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said on Sunday that Israeli airstrikes overnight near Al-Amal Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis caused extensive damage to several hospital facilities and killed one person.
And the Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday that an Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza is no longer serving patients or the wounded – leaving the northern part of the enclave without any functioning hospitals amid the bombing.
It has been more than three months since the Israeli army launched an offensive in northern Gaza against what it says is a resurgence of Hamas militants.
Aaron Boxman contributed to this report.
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