An Israeli airstrike kills 18 members of a family in Gaza as mediators hope for a cease-fire
Deir al-Balah (Gaza Strip), Aug 17: As mediators expressed optimism for an imminent cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, violence raged on Saturday in the Gaza Strip, where an Israeli airstrike killed at least 18 people, all from the same family.
The attack came days after the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza announced the death toll surpassed 40,000 in the 10-month-old war, and hours after officials from the United States, Egypt and Qatar ended two days of cease-fire talks with a message of hope that a deal could be reached.
A joint statement from the mediators said a proposal to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas was presented and they expected to work out the details of how to implement the possible deal next week in Cairo.
The mediation efforts are aimed not just at securing the release of scores of Israeli hostages and stopping the fighting that has devastated Gaza, where aid and health workers fear a possible polio outbreak. They are also aimed at calming regional tensions that have threatened to explode into a broader war if Iran and Hezbollah group in Lebanon attack Israel in retaliation for the recent killings of top leaders.
Saturday's airstrike in Gaza hit a house and adjacent warehouse sheltering displaced people at the entrance to Zawaida town, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where casualties were taken. An Associated Press reporter there counted the dead.
Among those killed was Sami Jawad al-Ejlah, a wholesaler who coordinated with the Israeli military to bring meat and fish to Gaza. The dead also included his two wives, 11 of their children ages 2 to 22, the children's grandmother and three other relatives, according to a list provided by the hospital.
“He was a peaceful man,” said Abu Ahmed, a neighbor who was slightly wounded. More than 40 civilians were sheltering in the house and warehouse at the time, he said.
AP footage showed bulldozers removing rubble from the heavily damaged warehouse.
The Israeli military, which rarely comments on individual strikes, said it was checking the report. It said Saturday it was continuing attacks on Hamas group in central Gaza, including one seen launching rockets at troops.
Meanwhile, another mass evacuation was ordered for parts of central Gaza. In a post on X, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Palestinians in areas in and around the urban Maghazi refugee camp should leave. He said Israeli forces will operate in them in response to Palestinian rocket fire.
The vast majority of Gaza's population has been displaced by the fighting, often multiple times, and around 84% of the territory has been placed under evacuation orders by the Israeli military, according to the United Nations.
The war began when Hamas-led group stormed across the border on Oct 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 250 to Gaza. More than 100 were released in a November cease-fire. Around 110 are believed to be in Gaza, though Israeli authorities believe around a third are dead.
Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 Hamas members, without providing evidence.
Gaza's Health Ministry said Saturday at least 40,074 Palestinians have been killed in the war. The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
Mediators have spent months pursuing a three-phase plan in which Hamas would release the hostages in exchange for a lasting cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Efforts took on new urgency in recent weeks as diplomats hoped a deal would persuade Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah to hold off on retaliating for the killing of a top Hezbollah commander in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut and of Hamas' top political leader in an explosion in Tehran that was widely blamed on Israel.
Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire since the war started, and an Israeli strike Saturday killed at least 10 Syrians, including a woman and her two children, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah weapons depot.
In what appeared to be a sign of confidence, mediators were beginning preparations for implementing the cease-fire proposal even before it was approved, said an American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with rules set by the White House.
The official said an “implementation cell” was being established in Cairo to focus on logistics — including freeing hostages, providing humanitarian aid for Gaza and ensuring the deal's terms are met.
But Hamas cast doubt on whether an agreement was near, saying the latest proposal diverged significantly from a previous iteration they had accepted in principle.
Both sides agreed in principle to a plan announced on May 31 by US President Joe Biden. But Hamas has proposed amendments, and Israel has suggested clarifications, leading each side to accuse the other of trying to block a deal.
The US official said the latest proposal is the same as Biden's, with some clarifications based on ongoing talks. The way it's structured poses no risk to Israel's security but enhances it, he added.
Hamas has rejected Israel's demands, which include a lasting military presence along the border with Egypt and a line bisecting Gaza where it would search Palestinians returning to their homes to root out potential threats.
But Israel showed flexibility during the talks on retreating from the border corridor, and a meeting between Egyptian and Israeli military officials was scheduled for the following week to agree on a withdrawal mechanism, according to two Egyptian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the private negotiations.
Israel insisted on keeping control of the road bisecting Gaza, but US mediators vowed to return to the talks next week with a compromise on that demand, the officials said.
As part of diplomacy aimed at securing the deal, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Cairo on Saturday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken planned to travel to Israel over the weekend and was expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
