At least 49 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip, health staff said as humanitarian crisis in Gaza grows and cease-fire prospects inch closer.
The strikes began late Friday and continued into Saturday morning, among others killing 12 people near the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced people, and eight more living in apartments, according to staff at Shifa hospital where the bodies were brought.
More than 20 bodies were taken to Nasser hospital, according to health officials.
The strikes come as U.S. President Donald Trump says there could be a cease-fire agreement within the next week. Taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office Friday, the president said, "we're working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of."
An official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Israel's Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, will arrive in Washington next week for talks on Gaza's cease-fire, Iran and other subjects. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Talks have been on again off again since Israel broke the latest cease-fire in March, continuing its military campaign in Gaza and furthering the Strip's dire humanitarian crisis. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, fewer than half of them believed to still be alive. They were part of some 250 hostages taken when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparking the 21-month-long war.
The war has killed over 56,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. More than half of the dead were women and children.
There is hope among hostage families that Trump's involvement in securing the recent ceasefire between Israel and Iran might exert more pressure for a deal in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is riding a wave of public support for the Iran war and its achievements, and he could feel he has more space to move toward ending the war in Gaza, something his far-right governing partners oppose.
Hamas has repeatedly said it is prepared to free all the hostages in exchange for an end to the war in Gaza. Netanyahu says he will only end the war once Hamas is disarmed and exiled, something the group has rejected.
Meanwhile hungry Palestinians are enduring a catastrophic situation in Gaza. After blocking all food for 2 1/2 months, Israel has allowed only a trickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May.
Israeli forces also opened fire on Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid near a distribution point associated with the controversial US-Israeli aid mechanism near the Netzarim corridor. At least 10 people were injured by live ammunition, according to local medical teams.
Since May 27, Israel and the U.S. have been operating an aid distribution system independent of the UN and major humanitarian agencies. Critics have condemned the initiative as a "death trap," as Israeli troops have repeatedly opened fire on crowds seeking food and supplies.
As of Wednesday, Gaza's Health Ministry reported that at least 549 Palestinians had been killed and more than 4,066 injured while attempting to receive aid at these distribution sites.
Separately, at least eight Palestinians were injured when the Israeli artillery targeted two homes in the northern Gaza town of Jabalia at dawn.
