At least 11 Palestinians were killed in a latest Israeli air strikes reportedly aimed at aid supplies in Gaza. Reports said Israeli tanks also pushed deeper into Rafah in the south and fought their way back into areas in the north they had already subdued months ago.
As per Reuters report, one strike at a food distribution centre in Gaza City, near the Shati historic refugee camp, killed three people.
It said another air strike, near Bani Suhaila town in the southern Gaza Strip, killed at least eight, including guards who accompany aid trucks.
The above report mentioned there was no immediate comment from Israel, which denies attacking aid efforts and accuses militants of causing harm to civilians by operating among them.
Earlier, an Israeli air strike at a medical clinic in Gaza City killed the director of Gaza's Ambulance and Emergency Department, reports said. Commenting over the strike Israel had said that the strike had killed a senior Hamas militant commander.
Reports stated that the latest killing of Hani al-Jaafarawi brought the number of medical staff killed by Israeli fire since October 7 to 500. At least 300 others have so far been detained, Reuters report mentioned.
In a statement, the Israeli military said the strike targeted Mohammad Salah, who it said was responsible for developing Hamas weaponry.
There has been no let-off in war since October 7 last year, after an audacious attack by Hamas militants inside Israel reportedly killed 1,200 people and took 250 people captive, including women, children and older people.
Dozens were freed in a temporary cease-fire deal in late November and of the 120 remaining hostages, Israel says about a third are dead.
In response Israel has reportedly killed more than 37,000 Palestinians. It has sparked a humanitarian crisis and displaced most of the territory's 2.3 million population.
Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu says he won't agree to a deal that ends the war in Gaza: Netanyahu has said he was “prepared to make a partial deal — this is no secret — that will return to us some of the people,” referring to the roughly 120 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, AP reported.
“But we are committed to continuing the war after a pause, in order to complete the goal of eliminating Hamas. I'm not willing to give up on that.”
His comments come at a sensitive time as Israel and Hamas appear to be moving further apart over the latest cease-fire proposal, and they could represent another setback for mediators trying to end the war.
Netanyahu's comments stood in sharp contrast to the outlines of the deal detailed late last month by U.S. President Joe Biden, who framed the plan as an Israeli one and which some in Israel refer to as “Netanyahu's deal.”
His remarks could further strain Israel's ties to the US, its top ally, which launched a major diplomatic push for the latest cease-fire proposal.
