Israeli strikes kill at least 30 in Gaza as ceasefire talks set to resume in Qatar

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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes killed at least 30 people in Gaza, including children, overnight and into Friday, hospital staff said, as often-stalled ceasefire talks to end the Israel-Hamas war were set to resume in Qatar. Sirens sounded across Israel for missiles fired from Yemen.

Staff at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said that more than a dozen women and children were killed in strikes in central Gaza, including in Nuseirat, Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al-Balah. Dozens of people were killed across the enclave the previous day, bringing the total killed in the past 24 hours to 56.

“We woke up to the missile strike. We found the whole house disintegrated,” Abdul Rahman Al-Nabrisi said in the Maghazi refugee camp.

The Israeli army said in a statement Friday that during the past day, it had struck dozens of Hamas gathering points and command centers throughout Gaza. The army asserted that measures were taken to mitigate civilian harm, such as using aerial surveillance.

And it issued a warning for people to leave an area of central Gaza immediately, saying it would attack following launches from there toward Israel. The military said that a few projectiles entered Israel from central and northern Gaza, with no injuries reported.

Freelance journalist Omar al-Derawi was among those killed on Friday. Associated Press reporters saw friends and colleagues mourning over his body, with a press vest laid on his shroud.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said last month that more than 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the start of the war. Israel hasn’t allowed foreign journalists to enter Gaza except on military embeds.

Israelis also woke up to attacks. Israel said that missiles were fired into the country from Yemen, setting off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and central Israel and sending people scrambling to shelters. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Israel’s army said that a missile was intercepted. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen often claim responsibility.

Efforts at ceasefire negotiations were expected to resume Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said that he authorized a delegation from the Mossad intelligence agency, the Shin Bet internal security agency and the military to continue negotiations in Qatar. The delegation was leaving for Qatar on Friday.

The U.S.-led talks have repeatedly stalled during nearly 15 months of war. Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed. But the militants, while greatly weakened, have repeatedly regrouped, often after Israeli forces withdraw from areas.

The war was sparked by Hamas-led militants’ attack into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. They killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.

Israel’s offensive in retaliation has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up more than half the dead. The ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.

Israel’s military says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas. The army says it has killed 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times. Winter has now arrived, and hundreds of thousands are sheltering in tents near the sea.

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Sam Mednick reported from Jerusalem.

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