Israeli forces kill 139 more Palestinians in Gaza

Hamas says discussing proposals after Trump ceasefire push

Monitoring Desk

GAZA: Gaza health authorities said Israeli gunfire and military strikes killed at least 139 Palestinians in northern and southern areas in the past 24 hours, and the Israeli military ordered more evacuations late on Tuesday.
Among those killed was Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, in an airstrike that has also killed his wife and five children, medics say.
The Israeli military said in response to questions on the air strike that it had targeted a “key terrorist” from Hamas, without giving a name, in the Gaza City area. It added that it was reviewing reports of civilian casualties and said that the military regretted any harm to “uninvolved individuals”, and takes steps to minimize such harm.
Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the whole 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.
More than 80% of the territory is now an Israeli-militarized zone or under displacement orders, according to the UN.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian group Hamas said on Wednesday it was discussing proposals for a Gaza ceasefire received from mediators, after US President Donald Trump said Israel backed a 60-day ceasefire in the war-ravaged territory.
Hamas said in a statement Wednesday it was “conducting national consultations to discuss what we received from the proposals of the… mediators”.
It said it aimed “to reach an agreement that guarantees ending the aggression, achieving the withdrawal (of Israel from Gaza) and urgently aiding our people in the Gaza Strip”.
Without directly mentioning Trump’s remarks, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that “a large majority within the government and the population is in favour” of a deal to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
“If the opportunity arises, it must not be missed!” Saar wrote on X.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the elimination of Hamas in his first public remarks since Trump’s announcement.
“There will not be a Hamas. There will not be a Hamastan. We’re not going back to that. It’s over,” Netanyahu told a meeting hosted by the Trans-Israel pipeline.
The statements from the two sides reiterated long-held positions, giving no clues as to whether or how a compromise agreement could be reached. Trump’s announcement had raised some hope among Gazans for at least a temporary relief from war.
“I hope it would work this time, even if for two months, it would save thousands of innocent lives,” Kamal, a resident of Gaza City, said by phone.
Others questioned whether Trump’s statements would deliver long-term peace, saying it was not the first time he had said a peace deal was close.
“We hope he is serious like he was serious during the Israeli-Iranian war when he said the war should stop, and it stopped,” said Adnan Al-Assar, a resident of Khan Younis in Gaza’s south.
There is growing public pressure on Netanyahu to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-long war, a move strongly opposed by hardline members of his right-wing ruling coalition.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said a majority within the coalition government would back an agreement that would see the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza.
“If there is an opportunity to do so – we must not miss it!”, he wrote on X. Of 50 hostages still held, around 20 are believed to be still alive.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid posted that his party could provide a safety net if hardline members of the cabinet opposed a deal, effectively pledging not to back a no-confidence motion in parliament that could topple the government.

For Gazans, who have fled multiple times and face daily struggles to find food 21 months into Israel’s military campaign, there was a glimmer of optimism but many worried that any ceasefire would only be temporary.
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