Israel ramps up deadly Gaza attacks as ceasefire talks loom in Qatar
- At least 35 Palestinians are killed in Israeli attacks since dawn across the Gaza Strip as high-level negotiators get set to fly to Doha, Qatar for the latest round of ceasefire talks.
- Gaza’s Government Media Office says Israel carried out “horrific crimes” over the previous 24 hours with 34 air strikes that killed 71 civilians across the besieged enclave.
Israel says rocket fired from central Gaza
The Israeli army says a rocket that was fired from central Gaza towards the southern Israeli community of Be’eri was intercepted.
The army said the results of the interception were currently under review, but no injuries were reported.
Interceptor missiles were also reportedly launched over Sderot after projectiles were fired from the Gaza Strip.
Mothers of Israeli captives demonstrate outside Netanyahu’s home: Report
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports mothers of captives held in Gaza are protesting outside the Israeli prime minister’s home in Jerusalem, urging Benjamin Netanyahu to secure a deal to free their children.
The paper quotes several of them, including Eilat Levy-Shachar, whose daughter Naama was taken to Gaza on October 7.
“We are at critical times and these negotiations must advance. We are preparing to come in greater numbers and force to make it happen,” she said.
Shira, the mother of captive Liri Elbag, told attendees: “We are suffocating with worry, crying at night, and filled with anger. We need action from the prime minister to bring them home.”
Pressure from US, Israel led to Beirut airport searches: Report
The searching of passengers and their luggage onboard a Mahan Air flight going from Tehran to Beirut last night that we reported earlier was a result of outside pressure, Iranian state media reports.
“This happened by order of the Lebanese interior minister and with American-Israeli pressure as they had assumed that Iran was using Mahan Air to transfer money [to Hezbollah], so they searched all the luggage and found nothing,” an unnamed source from the Iranian embassy in Lebanon told the Tasnim news website.
“There was a small, normal briefcase which had to pass without checks based on diplomatic rules, but there was an insistence to open it. The issue was resolved with the intervention of the Lebanese Foreign Ministry and it entered without inspections.”
The source was quoted as saying that demonstrators then made their way to the Iranian embassy to show their support for Tehran, and to protest that Lebanese passengers were subjected to intense scrutiny.
Israeli claims ‘terrorists’ targeted in deadly attacks on Gaza shelters
The Israeli military says it launched air strikes on 40 sites across the Gaza Strip over the past day, claiming all were “terrorist gathering points and Hamas command and control centres”.
Dozens of Palestinian fighters “operated from within these areas”. It confirmed some of the targets it struck were schools turned into shelters, many of which it has destroyed since the start of the war on Gaza.
As we reported earlier, at least 70 Palestinians were confirmed killed as a result of the attacks on Thursday, with the real number expected to be much higher. The intensified strikes come as Israeli and Hamas delegations are expected to hold mediated talks in Qatar today.
