At least 12 people, including three children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, according to Palestinian reports. The US continues to hope for an agreement, while Berlin fears even greater suffering.
The Civil Defense Authority, controlled by the radical Islamist group Hamas, said the three girls and their father were killed when their home in Nuseirat, in the center of the Gaza Strip, was shelled. Their bodies were found under the rubble of the house, paramedic Mahmoud Awad said.
Another eight people were reportedly killed in an attack on a house in the northern Palestinian town of Jabalia. According to the Civil Protection Authority, several people were also injured in the attack.
Soon 46,000 dead in the Gaza war
The Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, which has been going on for 15 months, was triggered by the major attack on Israel by Hamas and allied groups on October 7, 2023. According to Israeli figures, the attack killed 1,208 people and 251 hostages taken to the Gaza Strip. The massive Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip has since killed more than 45,900 people, according to figures from Hamas’s health authority that cannot be independently verified.
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas have been underway in Doha for a few days. International mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US have tried unsuccessfully in recent months to broker a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of Israeli hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that an agreement on a deal was “very close”. “I hope we can get it across the finish line in the time we have left,” Blinken said, referring to the change of administration in Washington and the inauguration of new President Donald Trump on January 20.
Baerbock warns Tel Aviv
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is increasingly concerned about developments in the Gaza Strip. The minister had “repeatedly made it clear in her contacts with Israeli leaders in recent days and weeks that the humanitarian situation cannot continue like this,” the Foreign Ministry in Berlin said on Thursday.
“Winter hits the weakest hardest, children die from hypothermia and malnutrition.” The Israeli government is now being called on to “finally adjust its military approach and stop the heavy fighting.”
Access to humanitarian aid must be improved by creating security for aid workers in Israeli-controlled areas. Only a ceasefire and the liberation of the hostages from the clutches of Hamas could finally put a lasting end to the terrible suffering. German diplomatic circles added: “The military operations are causing far too many civilian deaths. And in northern Gaza, Israel is creating facts that make it difficult to believe that Palestinians will ever be able to live there again.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
