Israel launched new attacks on Gaza on Sunday as Israeli leaders come under increasing pressure to negotiate and secure the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas.
Relatives of the hostages are increasingly calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push him to reach an agreement to release the prisoners, while the army admitted it “accidentally” killed three of them in Palestinian territory.
The three slain hostages were among about 250 people captured in Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israeli soil on October 7, which left 1,140 people dead, according to the latest data from Israeli authorities.
At least twelve people were killed in Israeli attacks on the city of Deir al-Balah in the center of the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the Hamas Health Ministry said. Witnesses also reported an Israeli bombardment on the southern town of Bani Suheila.
In total, 18,800 people have been killed, including 70% women, children and teenagers, since the start of the offensive, which Israel launched in retaliation against Gaza, according to the Islamist group.
Relatives of the hostages gathered for a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
“Our demand is not a fight (against the government). It's a call anyone would make if it were their father. Take us into account and create a (negotiation) plan now,” Noam Perry, daughter of hostage Haim Perry, told the gathering.
More than 100 Israelis and foreigners held captive by Hamas were released last month in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners during a week-long ceasefire brokered by Qatar.
Israel's prime minister said Saturday that “military pressure is necessary both for the return of the hostages and for the victory over our enemies.”
But Benjamin Netanyahu also appeared to confirm Qatar's ongoing diplomatic efforts to release new hostages. “We have serious criticism of Qatar, which you will probably hear about in due course, but at the moment we are trying to complete the recovery of our hostages,” he said.
Qatar confirmed on Saturday its “ongoing diplomatic efforts to renew the humanitarian pause.”
However, Hamas said in a message on Telegram that it “opposed any negotiations on the exchange of prisoners until the aggression against our people completely ceases.”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced his trip to Israel, Bahrain and Qatar on Saturday evening to underscore “Washington's commitment to strengthening regional security and stability.”
In recent days, the US government has urged Israeli authorities to move to a less intensive phase of their operation in Gaza to better protect civilians.
According to news site Axios, Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea met on Friday with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who helped negotiate the previous ceasefire.
French diplomatic chief Catherine Colonna is also expected in Israel and the West Bank on Sunday and in Lebanon on Monday.
His ministry on Saturday condemned an Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip that killed one of its agents and called for “all light to be shed.”
In addition to official talks, the minister should meet families of French hostages and call for “a new immediate and permanent humanitarian ceasefire” that should lead to a permanent ceasefire in order to achieve and be able to achieve the release of all hostages, according to a press release from the Quai d'Orsay we provide humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.
British diplomatic chief David Cameron and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock called for a “permanent ceasefire” as soon as possible in a joint article in the Sunday Times.
However, they oppose a “general and immediate ceasefire” and believe Hamas “must lay down its arms.”
“Hunger, disease and low immunity”
Israeli bombing raids have reduced much of the territory to rubble and the UN estimates that 1.9 million people in the Gaza Strip have been displaced by the war.
This week the United Nations warned that hunger and desperation pushing people to seek humanitarian assistance could lead to a “collapse of civil order.”
“I wouldn't be surprised if people died of hunger or a combination of hunger, disease and low immunity,” said Philippe Lazzarini, director of the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (OCHA).
The agency reported a “prolonged communications outage” in Gaza since Thursday evening, lasting for the past 48 hours.
Amid growing international pressure, Israel announced the “temporary” opening of a new humanitarian entry point through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, but did not specify when.
The fighting continued on Saturday. The Israeli army said it attacked two schools in northern Gaza City that were said to be Hamas hideouts.
In the complex that houses the only Catholic church in Gaza City, a mother and her daughter were killed by an Israeli soldier and seven people were injured on Saturday, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in outrage.
Dozens of journalists attended the funeral of Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abou Daqa, who was killed in an Israeli attack, in Khan Younes on Saturday.
Traffic disruption in the Red Sea
And the war continues to raise tensions across the region.
There are regular firefights between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah across its northern border with Lebanon. On Saturday, the Israeli army said one soldier had been killed and two others injured on the Lebanese border.
Maritime transport in the Red Sea has also suffered from the effects of the conflict. Following attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen, portrayed as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas, several global shipping giants announced one after another that they would suspend the passage of their ships through this important trade passage.
According to the American military command in the Middle East (Centcom), an American battleship shot down 14 drones in this region on Saturday that were launched from “Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.”