Gaza air strikes leave at least 48 people dead, health officials say

22 February 2024, 16:14

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on residential buildings and a mosque in Rafah
Israel Palestinians. Picture: PA

A member of Israel’s War Cabinet said new attempts are under way to reach a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Israeli strikes killed at least 48 people in southern and central Gaza overnight, half of them women and children, health officials said on Thursday.

The strikes came as European foreign ministers and UN agencies called for a ceasefire, with alarm rising over the worsening humanitarian crisis and potential starvation in the territory.

Tensions were also rising in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where three Palestinian gunmen on Thursday opened fire on morning traffic at a motorway checkpoint, killing one person and wounding five others, Israeli police said.

Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, announced on Thursday that the government “will expand the authority given to our hostage negotiators”. His comments, delivered in a meeting with US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, signalled a small sign of progress in ceasefire talks.

Palestinians look at air strike damage in Rafah
At least 48 people have died in overnight strikes in Gaza, officials said (Fatima Shbair/AP)

Benny Gantz, who sits on Israel’s War Cabinet with Mr Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said late Wednesday that new attempts are under way to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that could pause the war in Gaza and bring the release of around 130 Israeli hostages held by the militants since their October 7 attack on southern Israel.

It was the first Israeli indication of new efforts since negotiations stalled a week ago.

But Mr Gantz, a former military chief and defence minister, repeated his pledge that unless Hamas agrees to release the remaining hostages, Israel will launch a ground offensive into Gaza’s southern-most town, Rafah, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins around March 10.

More than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million is crowded into Rafah after fleeing fighting and bombardment elsewhere in the territory.

Israel has said it will evacuate them before attacking, although it is not clear where they would go, with much of the rest of the tiny Mediterranean enclave consumed in combat — raising fears civilian casualties could spiral in an Israeli assault that has already killed more than 29,400 people.

The heads of 13 UN agencies and five other aid groups issued a joint plea for a ceasefire late on Wednesday, warning an attack on Rafah will bring “mass casualties” and could “deal a death blow” to the humanitarian operation bringing aid to Palestinians, which “is already on its knees”.

An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires a shell from southern Israel towards the Gaza Strip
An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires a shell from southern Israel towards the Gaza Strip (Leo Correa/AP)

Earlier this week, the World Food Programme had to halt food deliveries to northern Gaza because of increasing chaos.

The foreign ministers of 26 European countries on Thursday called for a pause in fighting leading to a longer ceasefire.

They urged Israel not to take military action in Rafah “that would worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian situation”.

In Thursday’s West Bank shooting, an Israeli man in his 20s was killed and five others injured, including a pregnant woman.

Security forces killed two of the gunmen and detained the third, police said.

Hamas praised the attack in Jerusalem and said it was a “natural response” to Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza and raids in the West Bank and called for more attacks until they can achieve a “fully sovereign” Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

The militant group did not claim responsibility for the attack.

A mosque was among the buildings hit in air strikes in Rafah
A mosque was among the buildings hit in air strikes in Rafah (Fatima Shbair/AP)

Since the war began, the Israeli army has carried out near-nightly raids across the West Bank, arresting more than 3,200 Palestinians, including 1,350 it says are suspected Hamas members.

Meanwhile, a flurry of seven Israeli strikes hit Rafah early on Thursday, one of them flattening a large mosque and devastating much of the surrounding block.

Footage from the scene showed al-Farouq Mosque pancaked to the ground, with its concrete domes tumbled around it and nearby buildings shattered.

Another strike hit a residential home in Rafah sheltering the al-Shaer family, killing at least four people, including a mother and her child.

Strikes in central Gaza overnight killed 44 people, including 14 children and eight women, according to hospital officials.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, after the October 7 attack, in which militants from the territory stormed into southern Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping around 250 people.

The US, Israel’s top ally, has been working with mediators Egypt and Qatar to try to broker a deal for a ceasefire of several months with the release of hostages.

Talks stalled last week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ demands for any hostage release – a complete end to Israel’s offensive in Gaza and withdrawal of its troops, along with the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including top militants.

By Press Association

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

US President-elect Donald Trump, left, and Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Ali Khamenei, right.

Donald Trump 'weighing up strikes on Iran' to obliterate nuclear capabilities - report

Antony Blinken shaking the hand of Hakan Fidan

Blinken: US and Turkey have ‘broadment agreement’ on what’s next for Syria

Daniel Burke was shot by a 'comrade', the inquest found.

Former British soldier shot dead in Ukraine by man who claimed to be his friend, inquest told

Two US veterans sitting side by side

Veterans gather to mark Battle of the Bulge when last Nazi offensive was halted

Syrians celebrating outside the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus

Thousands gather in Damascus to celebrate the toppling of Assad regime

France's centrist politician Francois Bayrou has been selected as Emmanuel Macron's new Prime Minister.

Francois Bayrou: Who is France’s new Prime Minister?

Volodymyr Zelensky speaking and gesturing with his left hand

Russia ‘terrorising millions’ with latest massive aerial attack, says Zelensky

Francois Bayou and Emmanuel Macron talking

Macron names ally Bayrou as new PM as he aims to restore political stability

Syrians attempt to identify their imprisoned relatives' bodies after fall of Assad regime in Damascus.

Former Syrian military official who oversaw prison charged with torture in US

Francois Bayrou gesturing as he speaks

Macron names key ally Francois Bayrou as France’s new prime minister

The world's deepest and longest road tunnel is being built across Norway. £36 billion is being spent on the mega-project.

Incredible video shows plans for world’s longest, deepest undersea road tunnel

Crown of Thorns relic on a red cushion

Holy relic the Crown of Thorns to return to Notre Dame Cathedral

People take cover in a Kyiv subway during the missile attacks. Inset, a Polish f-16 jet

NATO fighters scrambled as Russia launches major attack on Ukraine’s energy grid

Fishermen pose with one of the giant catfish

Catching six Mekong giant catfish is sign of hope for species – conservationists

A man taking a photo of Space X Starship on its launch pad

Musk wants to turn Texas base where he launches rockets into new city

Ukrainian forces fire towards Russian positions

Russia launches massive aerial attack on Ukraine with cruise missiles and drones