Israeli Strikes in Gaza Result in 33 Deaths; Ceasefire Negotiations Stagnate
Over the past 24 hours, Israeli forces have killed 33 Palestinians in Gaza during ongoing clashes with Hamas militants, according to Palestinian officials. Despite the violence, brief lulls in the fighting allowed medics to continue a third day of polio vaccinations for children.
The Israeli military reported the elimination of eight Palestinian gunmen, including a high-ranking Hamas commander involved in the October 7 attacks on Israel. The commander, Ahmed Fozi Nazer Muhammad Wadia, was killed at a command center near the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. He was allegedly responsible for orchestrating the “massacre of civilians” in Israel’s Netiv HaAsara community, close to the Gaza border.
The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that despite the hostilities, they were surpassing their targets for the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to establish a lasting ceasefire and negotiate the release of foreign and Israeli hostages held in Gaza, as well as the return of Palestinians detained by Israel, have reached an impasse. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that Israeli forces would maintain their presence in the Philadelphi corridor on Gaza’s southern edge, a critical issue hindering the progress of ceasefire negotiations and the resolution of the hostage crisis.
