Israeli Airstrikes On Gaza Kill 21 People

Kondsi Gaza/DOKmen UNFPA/Media Clinic

JAKARTA - Israeli fire and airstrikes killed 21 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. This incident occurred when mediators contacted Israel and Hamas to seek a resumption of ceasefire negotiations to end the war.

As reported by Reuters, local health authorities said Israeli airstrikes killed nine people at a school housing families displaced in the suburbs of Sheikh Radwan in Gaza City.

Another attack also reportedly killed nine people near a tent camp in Khan Younis in the south of the area.

Three others were killed in Israeli fire and dozens injured as crowds waited for UN aid trucks along the main route in central Gaza, medics said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military regarding the incident on Thursday, June 26.

Israel says it is seeking to eliminate militants from Hamas, which attacked southern Israel from Gaza by 2023, and released hostages still detained by the group.

The new deaths came at a time when Arab, Egyptian and Qatar mediators, backed by the United States, contacted warring parties in an attempt to hold new ceasefire talks, but no definite time was set for a new round, according to Hamas sources.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that Hamas release all hostages, release any role, and lay down their arms to end the war.

Hamas, in turn, said it would release the hostages if Israel agreed to a permanent ceasefire and withdraw from Gaza.

Although he has admitted that he will no longer rule Gaza, Hamas refuses to discuss gunfire.

Hamas-led militants killed nearly 1,200 people and held 251 people hostage when they attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, according to a tally from Israel, which launched a massive military operation in retaliation.

Israel's retaliatory war has so far killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and destroyed most of the coastal lines.