JERUSALEM/CAIRO: An Israeli air strike hit Palestinians near a medical centre in Gaza on Thursday, killing 10 children and six adults, local health authorities said, as ceasefire talks dragged on with no immediate deal expected.
Verified video footage from the strike in Deir Al Balah in the central Gaza Strip showed the bodies of women and children lying in pools of blood amidst dust and screaming. One clip showed several motionless children lying on a donkey cart.
"She didn't do anything, she was innocent, I swear. Her dream was for the war to end and that they announce it today, to go back to school", said Samah al Nouri, sitting by the body of her daughter who was killed in the blast.
"She was only getting treatment in a medical facility. Why did they kill them?" she said, with other bodies laid out around her at a nearby hospital.
Israel's military said it had struck a militant who took part in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. It said it was aware of reports regarding a number of injured bystanders and that the incident was under review.
The Deir Al Balah missile strike came as Israeli and Hamas negotiators hold talks with mediators in Qatar over a proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage release deal aimed at building agreement on a lasting truce.
Repeated attacks by Israeli forces in recent weeks have killed hundreds of Gazans, many of them civilians and injured thousands, according to local health authorities, putting an enormous strain on the enclave's few remaining hospitals.
Dwindling fuel supplies risk further disruption in the semi-functioning hospitals, including to incubators at the neonatal unit of Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, doctors there said.
"We are forced to place four, five or sometimes three premature babies in one incubator", said Dr Mohammed Abu Selmia, the hospital director, adding that premature babies were now in a critical condition.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was "hopeful" about the prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza, telling reporters on Thursday that negotiations were "closer" than they had been in some time.
Israel and Hamas began their latest round of talks on Sunday, with representatives seated in separate rooms within the same building.
"We're hopeful... It appears that generally the terms have been agreed to, but obviously now you need to have talks about how you implement those terms", Rubio said on the sidelines of a meeting of Southeast Asian countries in Malaysia.
"I think perhaps we're closer than we've been in quite a while and we're hopeful, but we also recognise there are still some challenges in the way".
He acknowledged that previous rounds of talks had fallen apart at similar stages.
"One of the fundamental challenges is Hamas' unwillingness to disarm, which would end this conflict immediately", Rubio said. — Agencies
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