92 Palestinians martyred in overnight strikes on Gaza, toll at 29,606
GAZA, Palestine (AFP) - Overnight strikes on Gaza killed over 92 Palestinians, the Hamas-run territory's health ministry said Saturday, as Israel's spy chief joined talks in Paris seeking to unblock negotiations on a truce.
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that at least 29,606 people have been martyred in the Palestinian territory during the war between militants and Israel. The toll includes at least 92 fatalities in the past 24 hours, while 69,737 people have been injured since the conflict began on October 7, a statement read.
The negotiations come after a plan for a post-war Gaza unveiled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew criticism from key ally the United States, and was rejected by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank. They also come alongside deepening fears for Gaza's civilians. The United Nations' main aid body for Palestinians, UNWRA, said Gazans were "in extreme peril while the world watches".
Hamas said morning that Israeli forces had launched more than 70 strikes on civilian homes in Deir al-Balah, Khan Yunis and Rafah among other locations over the previous 24 hours. The Palestinian Islamist movement that has ruled Gaza since 2007 also said fighting was raging in the northern district of Zeitun. AFPTV footage showed distraught Gazans queueing on Friday for food in Jabalia, also in the besieged Palestinian territory's devastated north, and protesting over dire living conditions.
"We have no water, no flour and we are very tired because of hunger. Our backs and eyes hurt because of fire and smoke," said one of them, Oum Wajdi Salha. Gaza's health ministry said a two-month-old baby identified as Mahmud Fatuh had died of "malnutrition". The UN humanitarian agency OCHA warned that "the elevated risk of famine in Gaza is projected to increase" without enough food and water, as well as health services.
Paris delegation
An Israeli delegation led by Mossad intelligence agency chief David Barnea was in Paris on Saturday for a fresh push towards a deal to return the remaining hostages. Barnea would be joined by his counterpart at the domestic Shin Bet security agency, Ronen Bar, Israeli media reported. The United States, Egypt and Qatar have all been deeply involved in past negotiations aimed at securing a truce and prisoner-hostage exchanges.
Pressure has been mounting on Netanyahu's government to negotiate a ceasefire and secure the hostages' release after more than four months of war. A group representing the captives' families planned what it billed as a "huge rally" to demand swifter action, coinciding with the Paris talks on Saturday night.
White House envoy Brett McGurk held talks this week with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv, after speaking to other mediators in Cairo who had met Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh. A Hamas source said the new plan proposes a six-week pause in the conflict and the release of between 200 and 300 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages being held by Hamas.
Barnea and his US counterpart from the CIA helped broker a week-long truce in November that saw the release of 80 Israeli hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
US National Security Council spokesman Kirby had said earlier that the discussions were "going well", while Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz spoke of "the first signs that indicate the possibility of progress".
