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An Israeli airstrike near a medical centre in Gaza has killed at least 15 people, including 10 children, local health authorities and an aid group said, as ceasefire talks dragged on with no immediate deal expected.
Verified video footage from the strike in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip showed the bodies of women and children lying on the floor, and screaming.
“She didn’t do anything, she was innocent, I swear. Her dream was for the war to end and that they announce it today, to go back to school,” said Samah al-Nouri, sitting by the body of her daughter who was killed in the blast.
“She was only getting treatment in a medical facility. Why did they kill them?” she said, at a nearby hospital.
Israel’s military said it had hit a Hamas militant who took part in the October 7 attack in 2023, but that it was aware of reports regarding injured bystanders and that the incident was under review.
US-based Project HOPE said the strike had hit directly in front of its Altayara health clinic, as patients had gathered outside.
“This morning, an airstrike hit a civilian area in Gaza near the Altayara Junction in Deir al Balah, directly in front of Project HOPE’s Altayara health clinic, killing 15 civilians, including 10 children and two women, and injuring many more,” the group said in a statement.
“The strike occurred as patients had gathered outside the clinic, awaiting its opening to receive treatment for malnutrition, infections, chronic illnesses, and more.”
‘Blatant violation of international law’
The aid group’s president Rabih Torbay said: “Horrified and heartbroken cannot properly communicate how we feel anymore.”
“This is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a stark reminder that no one and no place is safe in Gaza, even as ceasefire talks continue.”
Local health authorities said 10 children and six adults were killed, according to Reuters.
The Deir al-Balah missile strike came as Israeli and Hamas negotiators hold talks with mediators in Qatar over a proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal aimed at building agreement on a lasting truce.
“I think we’re closer, and I think perhaps we’re closer than we’ve been in quite a while,” Rubio told reporters at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia.
Several rounds of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas have failed to produce a breakthrough since the Israeli military resumed its campaign in March following a previous ceasefire.
Repeated attacks by Israeli forces in recent weeks have killed hundreds of Palestinians, many of them civilians, and injured thousands, according to local health authorities, putting an enormous strain on the enclave’s few remaining hospitals.
Dwindling fuel supplies risk further disruption in the semi-functioning hospitals, including to incubators at the neonatal unit of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, doctors there said.
“We are forced to place four, five or sometimes three premature babies in one incubator,” said Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, the hospital director, adding that premature babies were now in a critical condition.
Premature babies are being treated amid Israeli attacks at the al-Hilu Hospital. The fuel crisis affecting all hospitals could lead to the failure of generators and vital equipment. Source: Getty / Anadolu / Getty Images
An Israeli military official said that fuel destined for hospitals and other humanitarian facilities was let into the enclave on Thursday and Friday AEST.
However, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that far more fuel was needed to keep essential life-saving and life-sustaining services operating.
US President Donald Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week to discuss the situation in Gaza amid reports that Israel and Hamas were nearing an agreement on a US-brokered ceasefire proposal.
Netanyahu said that if the two sides reach agreement on the US 60-day truce plan, Israel will begin negotiations on a permanent ceasefire.
In a statement from Washington, he reiterated Israel’s terms for ending the war, including Hamas disarming and no longer ruling Gaza. Hamas has rejected calls to lay down its weapons.
“If this can be achieved through negotiations – that’s good. If it’s not achieved through 60-day negotiations then we will achieve it by other means, by use of force,” Netanyahu said.
A Palestinian official said the talks in Qatar were in crisis and that issues under dispute, including whether Israel would continue to occupy parts of Gaza after a ceasefire, had yet to be resolved.
The two sides previously agreed to a ceasefire in January but it did not lead to a deal on ending the war, and Israel resumed its military assault two months later, stopping all aid supplies into Gaza for 11 weeks and telling civilians to leave the north of the tiny territory.
Since Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack, in which 1,219 people were killed and 251 hostages taken, Israel’s military offensive and occupation has killed more than 57,000 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities.
It has destroyed swathes of the territory and driven most Gazans from their homes.
