Israeli strikes target Palestinians across Gaza amid ceasefire talks | News about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The World Food Program has condemned Israeli forces for firing on one of its convoys in Gaza in an ‘unacceptable’ incident.
Recent Israeli attacks have killed and wounded dozens of Palestinians across the Gaza Strip amid ongoing negotiations reach a truce deal with the besieged territory.
Medical sources told Al Jazeera Arabic Israeli bombing injured about 40 people north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Monday. Casualties, including children, were also reported in al-Mawasi area near Khan Younis.
The Palestinian Civil Defense said it recovered the bodies of three people killed in Israeli bombing in Nuseirat and another person in Khirbet al-Adas, north of Rafah.
Gaza’s health ministry said earlier Monday that at least 49 people had been killed in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of Palestinian casualties in the war to 45,854.
Israel has been killing dozens of Palestinians every day in Gaza since the war broke out in October 2023. It has also imposed a suffocating blockade on the territory and displaced almost the entire population.
Harsh winter conditions have added to the plight of Palestinians who have taken shelter in makeshift tents and are already struggling with hunger and a lack of medical care.
The Gaza government’s media office said on Monday that eight Palestinians were displaced have died due to the severe cold in recent weeks, warning that the number could rise due to the terrible conditions in the territory.
“We hold the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the deterioration of humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, as well as the US administration and the countries that supported and participated in the genocide,” the office said in a statement.
It called on international organizations and Arab and Muslim countries to intervene urgently to save civilians in Gaza.
The World Food Program (WFP) on Monday accused Israeli forces of firing on one of its convoys a day earlier.
The shooting, which resulted in no casualties, was described as “unacceptable”.
“The World Food Program strongly condemns the horrific incident on January 5, when Israeli forces fired on a clearly marked WFP convoy near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint, putting the lives of our staff at great risk and immobilizing the vehicles,” WFP said in declare.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant face off warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Gaza, including the use of “starvation as a method of warfare”.
In the context of the violence and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, diplomatic efforts continued to reach a ceasefire agreement that would lead to the release of Israeli prisoners held by Hamas and other Palestinian groups.
Hamas officials told several media outlets on Monday that the group was willing to release 34 Israeli prisoners in the first phase of a deal that would also include the release of an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
It is unclear how many Israeli prisoners from the initial list are still alive. Hamas said Israeli bombing had killed several prisoners since the war began.
Israeli media reported on Monday that the head of the Mossad David Barnea delayed a trip to Doha to finalize the deal while Israel awaits Hamas’s response to the proposal.
President-elect Donald Trump reiterated on Monday that “there will be hell to pay” if the prisoners are not released by the time he returns to the White House for a second term on January 20.
