DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes killed 14 Palestinians in Gaza and another 10 were killed while seeking food aid, hospital officials in the embattled enclave told The Associated Press on Saturday, as U.S.-led ceasefire efforts appeared to gain momentum after nearly 21 months of war.
Two American aid workers with the Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation were injured in southern Gaza in an attack at a food distribution site, which the recently created organization blamed on Hamas, without providing evidence.
Weary Palestinians expressed cautious hope after Hamas gave a ‘’positive’’ response late Friday to the latest U.S. proposal for a 60-day truce but said further talks were needed on implementation.
‘’We are tired. Enough starvation, enough closure of crossing points. We want to sleep in calm where we don’t hear warplanes or drones or shelling,’’ said Jamalat Wadi, one of Gaza’s hundreds of thousands of displaced people, speaking in Deir al-Balah. She squinted in the sun during a summer heat wave of over 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).
Hamas has sought guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. President Donald Trump has pushed for an agreement and will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday to discuss a deal.
Previous negotiations have stalled over Hamas demands of guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war’s end, while Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the militant group’s destruction.
‘’Send a delegation with a full mandate to bring a comprehensive agreement to end the war and bring everyone back. No one must be left behind,’’ Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, told the weekly rally by relatives and supporters in Tel Aviv.
A Palestinian doctor and his 3 children killed