Deadly Strikes Pummel Gaza as Conflict Nears Ten-Month Mark

Israel conducted deadly air strikes in the Gaza Strip as the conflict entered its tenth month on Sunday, with intense fighting continuing across the Palestinian territory. New diplomatic efforts are underway to halt the violence.

Israel announced plans to send a delegation to Doha for further truce talks with Qatari mediators, following recent discussions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman acknowledged that significant differences remain with Hamas regarding a ceasefire and hostage release deal. “It was agreed that next week Israeli negotiators will travel to Doha to continue the talks. There are still gaps between the parties,” the spokesman said on Friday.

Meanwhile, violence persisted in Gaza. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that six bodies, including those of two children, killed in Israeli strikes had arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Additionally, six people were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in northern Gaza City on Sunday.

On Saturday, the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza reported that 16 people were killed in a strike on a UNRWA-run school in Nuseirat, which was sheltering displaced individuals. The Israeli military claimed its aircraft targeted “terrorists” operating near the Al-Jawni school.

The military also reported operations across the Gaza Strip, including in Shujaiya, Deir al-Balah, and Rafah. Despite previously declaring Shujaiya clear of Hamas, fighting there has resumed.

Hamas reported that four journalists from local media were killed in overnight strikes, and UNRWA stated that two of its employees were also killed. To date, 194 UNRWA employees have died in the conflict.

The United States, mediating ceasefire negotiations alongside Qatar and Egypt, expressed optimism about the prospects of a deal. President Joe Biden previously announced a truce proposal that included a six-week ceasefire, an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza’s population centers, and the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants. Talks stalled, but a U.S. official indicated that a new proposal from Hamas might advance the process.

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the group’s new ideas had been conveyed to the American side, which welcomed them and passed them on to Israel. “Now the ball is in the Israeli court,” he stated.

There has been no truce since a one-week pause in November, which saw the release of 80 Israeli hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Domestic pressure in Israel has increased for another hostage release deal, with regular protests and rallies.

“It’s important that we reach a deal so that all the mothers can embrace their children and husbands, just as I hug my mother every morning now,” said rescued hostage Almog Mair Jan in a message to a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday.

The conflict began with Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, reportedly killing 1,195 people, mostly civilians. The militants also took captives, with 116 still in Gaza, including 42 whom the Israeli military claims are dead.

In retaliation, Israel’s military offensive has killed at least 38,098 people in Gaza, mostly civilians. The war has displaced 90 percent of Gaza’s population, destroyed much of its housing and infrastructure, and left nearly 500,000 people facing “catastrophic” hunger, according to U.N. agencies.

The main obstacle to a truce deal is Hamas’s demand for a permanent end to the fighting, which Netanyahu and his far-right coalition partners firmly reject. Netanyahu insists on the release of hostages and the complete dismantling of Hamas’s military capabilities before ending the conflict.