Israeli strikes kill 37 in Gaza and 8 in Lebanon as ceasefire talks falter

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Israel killed at least 37 Palestinians in Gaza and eight in southern Lebanon in latest attacks as international efforts to broker a ceasefire faltered.

The attacks, targeting residential areas, were particularly deadly in and around the city of Khan Younis, where most of the casualties were reported from. The dead included four women and as many children from a family whose home in the al-Amal neighbourhood was shelled, Al Jazeera reported.

At least three people were also killed in a strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp.

An Israeli drone fired on displaced Palestinians sheltering in tents near Salah al-Din Street in central Gaza, injuring at least five people, while warplanes bombed the Abu Arif neighbourhood in the region. It was not immediately known if there were any casualties.

Israel also conducted airstrikes in southern Lebanon, killing at least eight people, including a child. The Israeli military released footage of one of the strikes claiming it was targeting a Hezbollah cell.

Amid escalating violence in southern Lebanon, China warned its citizens in the country about the “severe and complex” security situation and advised them to leave while commercial flights were still available.

Several major countries previously advised citizens to leave Lebanon amid fears that the Israeli assault on Gaza – which began after Hamas raided southern Israel on 7 October and killed about 1,200 people – could spill over into a regional war.

The Israelis have killed over 40,000 Palestinian men, women and children in Gaza so far, according to the health authorities. They have also killed at least 632 Palestinians and displaced nearly 1,400 in over 1,000 attacks in the West Bank since 7 October, according to data from Israeli forces, Palestinian officials and the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Israel’s bombardment has also displaced 1.9 million people in Gaza and left the besieged territory’s entire population of over 2.2 million at the risk of famine and disease, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

The Israelis continued their attacks in Gaza as talks to broker a ceasefire seemed to falter in Cairo. The talks involved Israeli officials and intermediaries from the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

Brett McGurk, the White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, was leading the American delegation, the Associated Press reported, quoting a US official who spoke anonymously.

The outcome of the latest round of discussions on Thursday remained uncertain as Hamas appeared unwilling to accede to new demands introduced by Israel since the Palestinian group accepted a version of the ceasefire deal unveiled by US president Joe Biden in May, Reuters reported.

Israel demands to keep troops in two strategic corridors in Gaza – Netzarim Corridor, which runs the width of the territory, and Philadelphi Corridor along the border with Egypt – and retain the option to resume fighting after the first phase of a ceasefire, The New York Times reported.

Hamas is asking for a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The humanitarian situation, meanwhile, continued to worsen, with over 80 per cent of Gaza’s population displaced and living in overcrowded, unsanitary tent camps.

To add to their misery, Israel issued a new evacuation order for southern Gaza, including areas it previously designated as a “humanitarian zone”. Palestinians said there was no safe place left to go.

After the new Israeli evacuation order for the overcrowded city of Deir al-Balah, rights groups raised alarm about Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis.

Amid repeated evacuation orders by the Israeli military, the UN said over a million people in southern and central Gaza might not receive food aid rations for August.

The International Rescue Committee reported that polio had resurfaced in Gaza after a quarter century, attributing it to the destruction of healthcare and water infrastructure and overcrowded living conditions.

Dr Jude Senkugu, the group’s emergency health coordinator, warned that “the news of polio in Gaza should be an alarm bell that more infectious diseases are on the way” and highlighted the dire lack of clean water and the risk of further disease spread.

The World Health Organisation had earlier reported that a 10-month-old baby was paralysed by type 2 polio virus, the first such case in Gaza in 25 years.

Doctors Without Borders warned that shrinking living spaces were accelerating disease transmission. “There is no room to put tents up,” coordinator Jacob Granger said. “The overcrowding, severe lack of water, and minimal sanitation services are fueling the spread of diseases.”

Both organisations joined global aid agencies in calling for an immediate ceasefire.