Mediators race against time for Gaza truce amid rising death toll
Update: Israel kills 15 in Gaza shelters amid new report of ethnic cleansing
Gaza under fire
As talks drag on, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens.
Medics reported that Israeli airstrikes killed at least 44 Palestinians on Thursday.
Overnight, 13 people died in separate strikes on Gaza City and a central camp.
Later, airstrikes claimed 15 more lives in two shelters housing displaced families in eastern Gaza City’s Tuffah suburb.
Another strike on a residential house in the Sabra area added three more fatalities to the grim toll.
Israeli forces have targeted what they describe as Hamas command centers, including former school complexes in Tuffah.
The military alleges that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure to plan and launch attacks, an accusation Hamas denies.
Meanwhile, residents of northern Gaza, including Jabalia, reported widespread destruction as Israeli troops demolished clusters of homes.
“The longer these talks last, the more destruction and death take place in Gaza,” said Adel, a 60-year-old displaced resident of Jabalia now in Gaza City. “Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, and Rafah are being wiped out.”
