DEIR AL-BALAH (GAZA STRIP): As mediators expressed optimism for an imminent ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, violence raged on Saturday in the Gaza Strip, where an Israeli airstrike killed at least 15 people, all from the same family.
The attack came hours after officials from the United States, Egypt and Qatar ended two days of ceasefire talks with a message of hope that a deal could be reached.A joint statement from the mediators said a proposal to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas was presented and they expected to work out the details of how to implement the possible deal next week in Cairo.
A senior Hamas official on Saturday dismissed optimistic talk by US President Joe Biden that a Gaza truce is nearer after negotiations in the Gulf emirate of Qatar. He was responding to Biden’s comment on Friday that, “We are closer than we have ever been.” “To say that we are getting close to a deal is an illusion,” said Hamas political bureau member Abu Zuhri.
Among those killed on Saturday was Sami Jawad al-Ejlah, a wholesaler who coordinated with the Israeli military to bring meat and fish to Gaza. The dead included his two wives, 11 of their children aged 2 to 22, and their grandmother, according to a list provided by a hospital.
The attack came hours after officials from the United States, Egypt and Qatar ended two days of ceasefire talks with a message of hope that a deal could be reached.A joint statement from the mediators said a proposal to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas was presented and they expected to work out the details of how to implement the possible deal next week in Cairo.
A senior Hamas official on Saturday dismissed optimistic talk by US President Joe Biden that a Gaza truce is nearer after negotiations in the Gulf emirate of Qatar. He was responding to Biden’s comment on Friday that, “We are closer than we have ever been.” “To say that we are getting close to a deal is an illusion,” said Hamas political bureau member Abu Zuhri.
Among those killed on Saturday was Sami Jawad al-Ejlah, a wholesaler who coordinated with the Israeli military to bring meat and fish to Gaza. The dead included his two wives, 11 of their children aged 2 to 22, and their grandmother, according to a list provided by a hospital.