Israeli strike on Gaza shelter kills 17 as Blinken says cease-fire talks will resume

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip -- An Israeli onslaught connected a schoolhouse wherever displaced group were sheltering successful nan cardinal Gaza Strip killed astatine slightest 17 group connected Thursday, astir each women and children, Palestinian aesculapian officials said.

The onslaught came arsenic U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel had accomplished its nonsubjective of “effectively dismantling” Hamas, and that negotiations complete a cease-fire and nan merchandise of dozens of Israeli hostages would resume “in nan coming days.”

Another 42 group were wounded successful nan onslaught successful nan built-up Nuseirat exile camp, according to nan Awda Hospital, which received nan casualties. Among nan dormant were 13 children nether nan property of 18 and 3 women, according to nan hospital's records.

The Israeli subject said it targeted Hamas militants wrong nan school, without providing evidence. Israel has carried retired strikes connected respective schools-turned-shelters successful caller months, saying it precisely targets militants hiding retired among civilians. The strikes often termination women and children.

Blinken, speaking to reporters successful Qatar, which has served arsenic a cardinal mediator betwixt Israel and Hamas, said negotiators would return to Doha to renew nan talks.

“What we really person to find is whether Hamas is prepared to engage,” Blinken said connected his 11th sojourn to nan region since nan commencement of nan war.

Hamas’s governmental representatives person not truthful acold signaled a softer stance.

“There is nary alteration successful our position,” elder Hamas charismatic Osama Hamdan told Al Mayadeen, a Lebanese broadcaster seen arsenic intimately aligned pinch Iran and its allies.

Hamdan said Hamas delegates heard from mediators successful Cairo astir nan imaginable to revive cease-fire negotiations but reiterated that nan group still insists connected an extremity to Israel’s violative successful Gaza, arsenic good arsenic its complete withdrawal from nan territory.

The Israeli premier minister’s agency said nan caput of nan Mossad, nan country's spy agency, would recreation to Qatar connected Sunday to meet pinch CIA head Bill Burns and nan Qatari premier minister.

The United States hoped to revive nan negotiations aft Israeli forces killed apical Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar successful Gaza past week, but neither broadside has shown signs of moderating its demands from months of negotiations that sputtered to a halt complete nan summer.

Blinken besides announced an further $135 cardinal successful U.S. assistance to nan Palestinians, while again urging Israel to let much assistance to participate nan territory.

Health workers successful besieged bluish Gaza meantime warned of a catastrophic business there, wherever Israel has been waging an aerial and crushed violative for complete 2 weeks.

Hundreds of group person been killed and tens of thousands person fled their homes successful bluish Gaza successful caller days. The subject says it is battling Hamas fighters who regrouped successful nan north, which was 1 of nan first targets of nan crushed violative astatine nan commencement of nan war.

Dr. Hossam Abu Safiyeh, nan head of nan Kamal Adwan Hospital successful nan north, said successful a video connection released Wednesday that immoderate 150 wounded group were being treated there, including 14 children successful intensive attraction aliases nan neonatal department.

“There is simply a very ample number of wounded people, and we suffer astatine slightest 1 personification each hr because of nan deficiency of aesculapian supplies and aesculapian staff,” he said.

“Our ambulances can’t transportation wounded people,” he said. “Those who tin get by themselves to nan infirmary person care, but those who don’t conscionable dice successful nan streets.”

Footage shared pinch The Associated Press shows aesculapian unit tending to premature babies and respective older children successful infirmary beds, immoderate pinch terrible burns. One kid is seen attached to a breathing machine, pinch bandages connected her look and flies hovering complete her.

“We are providing nan bare minimum to patients. Everyone is paying nan value of what is happening now successful bluish Gaza,” Abu Safiyeh said.

Kamal Adwan is 1 of 3 hospitals successful nan northbound near mostly inaccessible because of nan fighting. The warfare has gutted nan wellness strategy crossed Gaza, pinch only 16 of 39 hospitals moreover partially functioning, according to nan World Health Organization.

In different 1 of nan besieged hospitals successful Gaza’s northernmost end, nan Indonesian Hospital, patients opportunity they're struggling to enactment live successful nan look of powerfulness outages and shortages of food, h2o and aesculapian supplies.

“The symptom is horrible, but location are nary painkillers here, nary antibiotics," said 39-year-old Nidal al-Darini, whose foot, wounded successful an Israeli airstrike, has go infected. “It's becoming unbearable."

The Civil Defense, first responders who run nether nan Hamas-run government, said they had suspended operations successful nan north. They said Israeli forces fired connected 1 of their teams successful nan municipality of Beit Lahiya aft ordering them to relocate to nan Indonesian Hospital, wherever troops are stationed.

Three Civil Defense members were wounded successful nan strike, and a firetruck was destroyed, it said. It said different 5 of its unit were detained by Israeli forces astatine nan hospital.

“As a result, we state that Civil Defense operations successful nan bluish Gaza Strip person been wholly halted, leaving these areas without immoderate firefighting, rescue, aliases emergency aesculapian services,” it said successful a statement.

There was nary contiguous remark from nan Israeli subject connected nan allegations.

The war began erstwhile Hamas-led militants stormed into confederate Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023, sidesplitting immoderate 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting different 250. Around 100 hostages are still wrong Gaza, a 3rd of whom are believed to beryllium dead.

Israel's retaliatory violative has killed complete 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not opportunity really galore were combatants but says women and children dress up much than half nan fatalities. The Israeli subject says it has killed complete 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The warfare has displaced astir 90% of Gaza's organization of 2.3 million, often aggregate times. Hundreds of thousands of group are crammed into shelter camps on nan seashore aft full neighborhoods successful galore areas were pounded to rubble.

Meanwhile nan Israeli run has expanded to Lebanon, wherever Israel launched a crushed penetration complete 3 weeks agone aft trading occurrence pinch nan Hezbollah militant group for overmuch of nan past year.

Lebanese wellness officials reported different time of aggravated airstrikes and shelling Thursday, which they said killed 19 group complete nan past 24 hours and raised nan wide Lebanese decease toll to 2,593 since nan conflict started successful October 2023.

The Israeli subject connected Thursday announced nan deaths of 4 reservists who were killed nan time earlier successful combat successful confederate Lebanon, making Wednesday 1 of nan deadliest days for Israel successful Lebanon since it launched its crushed penetration connected Sept. 30.

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Amiri reported from Doha, Qatar, and Khaled reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy successful Cairo and Isabel DeBre successful Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed.

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Follow AP’s warfare sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war