Israel air strikes kill at least 100 in Gaza amid ceasefire talks
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Smoke billowing due to Israeli bombardment in the besieged Palestinian territory on May 18.
PHOTO: AFP
CAIRO - Israeli air strikes killed at least 100 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip overnight, local health authorities said on May 18, as mediators hosted a new round of ceasefire talks
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has expanded its strikes on the enclave, killing hundreds of people since May 15, in preparation for a new ground offensive to achieve “operational control” in parts of Gaza.
“We have at least 100 martyrs since overnight. Complete families were wiped off the civil registration record by Israeli bombardment,” Mr Khalil Al-Deqran, spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, told Reuters by phone.
Israel has blocked the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies into Gaza since the start of March to try to pressure Hamas into freeing Israeli hostages and has approved plans that could involve seizing the entire Gaza strip and controlling aid.
Hamas says it will free the hostages only in return for an Israeli ceasefire.
Egypt and Qatar mediators, backed by the US, began a new round of indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas on May 17, officials from both sides said.
A Palestinian official close to the talks, which are taking place in the Qatari capital Doha, said: “Hamas is flexible about the number of hostages it can free, but the problem has always been over Israel’s commitment to end the war.”
Britain’s Sky News Arabica and the BBC both reported that the Palestinian militant group had proposed releasing about half its Israeli hostages in exchange for a two-month ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Contacted by Reuters, a Hamas official said: “Israel’s position is unchanged, they want their prisoners released, without a commitment to end the war.”
One of Israel’s overnight strikes hit a tent encampment housing displaced families in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, killing women and children, wounding dozens and setting several tents ablaze.
Hamas described the strike as a “new brutal crime” and blamed the US administration for the escalation.
Among the dozens killed earlier on May 18 were three journalists and their families. Medical officials said another family in northern Gaza lost at least 20 of its members.
Mr Zakaria Al-Sinwar, the brother of former Hamas chief Yehya Al-Sinwar whom Israel killed in October 2024, and three of his children were killed in an Israeli air strike on their tent in central Gaza Strip, medics said. Mr Sinwar was a history lecturer at a Gaza university.
Hamas described the strike as a “new brutal crime”, and blamed the US administration for the escalation.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The Gaza healthcare system is barely operational because of repeated Israeli bombardment and raids on hospitals. The blockade on aid supplies has compounded their difficulties while adding to widespread hunger, for which Israel blames Hamas.
Mr Deqran said: “Hospitals are overwhelmed with the growing number of casualties, many are children, several cases of amputations, and the hospitals, which have been hit repeatedly by the occupation, are struggling with shortages of medical supplies.”
The Israeli military said in a statement on May 17 that it was conducting extensive strikes in areas of Gaza as part of its plan to reach its war objectives.
Israel’s declared goal in Gaza is the elimination of the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, which attacked Israeli communities on Oct 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages.
The Israeli military campaign has devastated the enclave, pushing nearly all residents from their homes and killing more than 53,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities. REUTERS
