13 Palestinians killed in central Gaza strikes as ceasefire talks continue
Three children were among the dead, officials said.
At least 13 people have been killed in three Israeli air strikes that hit refugee camps in central Gaza, according to Palestinians health officials, as ceasefire talks continue in Cairo.
Among the dead in Nuseirat Refugee Camp and Bureij Refugee Camp were three children and one woman, according to Palestinian ambulance teams that transported the bodies to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital.
The 13 corpses were counted by AP journalists at the hospital.
Ola al-Kurd, 25, was killed along with six others in the blast, but was quickly rushed by emergency workers to Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza in the hope of saving the unborn child.
Hours later, doctors told The Associated Press that a baby boy had been delivered.
The still-unnamed child is stable but has suffered from a shortage of oxygen and has been placed in an incubator, said Dr Khalil Dajran. The baby boy’s father was injured in the same strike, but survived.
The war has created a humanitarian catastrophe in the coastal Palestinian territory, displaced most of its 2.3 million population and triggered widespread hunger.
Hamas’ October attack killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and militants took about 250 hostage.
About 120 remain in captivity, with about a third of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.
The Israel-Hamas war has left thousands of women and children dead, according to health officials in the Gaza Strip. In April, a premature Palestinian baby was rescued from her dead mother’s womb but died days later.
In the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said a 20-year-old man was shot dead by Israeli forces late Friday. Commenting on the shooting, the Israeli army said its forces opened fire on a group of Palestinians hurling rocks at Israeli troops in the town of Beit Ummar.
On Saturday, Hamas identified Mr Zaqeq as one of its members. The militant group’s green flag was wrapped around his corpse during the funeral.
Violence has surged in the territory since the Gaza war began. At least 577 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire since then, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry which tracks Palestinian deaths.
In Cairo, international mediators, including the United States, are continuing to push Israel and Hamas toward a phased deal that would halt the fighting and free about 120 hostages in Gaza.
On Friday, US secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, said a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel that will release Israeli hostages captive by the group in Gaza are “inside the 10-yard line”, but added: “We know that anything in the last 10 yards are the hardest.”
Sporadic negotiations between the warring sides have been under way since November’s one-week ceasefire, with both Hamas and Israel repeatedly accusing each other of scuppering efforts as a deal approaches.
