Israeli drone strikes in Rafah kill three Palestinians amid escalating violence and fragile ceasefire talks in Cairo.
Israeli assaults on Gaza have killed three Palestinians and wounded a number of within the southern governorate of Rafah as Hamas and Egyptian officers meet in Cairo for talks on the way forward for a precarious ceasefire.
On Saturday morning, an Israeli drone focused a gaggle of individuals east of Rafah metropolis, killing two Palestinians. Our colleagues on the bottom reported that one particular person was additionally killed by Israeli fireplace in at-Tannour, additionally east of Rafah.
Since Friday evening, Rafah has been the goal of intense Israeli assaults from tanks and drones with shelling impacting residential areas, together with al-Jnaina, ash-Shawka and Tal as-Sultan, the Palestinian information company Wafa reported.
In accordance with Gaza’s Ministry of Well being, no less than 48,453 Palestinians have been killed and 111,860 wounded by Israeli assaults since October 7, 2023.
On the similar time, the top of the enclave’s Authorities Media Workplace reported on Saturday in marking Worldwide Ladies’s Day that 12,316 girls have been killed all through the conflict.
“Ladies’s Day coincides with the continuation of the Israeli siege and the prevention of help as girls stay in catastrophic humanitarian situations and undergo from hunger and thirst,” Salama Maarouf mentioned.
At the very least 2,000 girls and women have been completely disabled as a consequence of amputations, in keeping with authorities information.
Ceasefire talks
Amid the continued assaults, a Hamas delegation arrived within the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Friday to debate the Gaza ceasefire.
In accordance with the AFP information company, two senior Hamas members are a part of a high-level delegation that’s anticipated to speak to Egyptian officers on Saturday concerning the subsequent section of the ceasefire.
Reporting from Gaza Metropolis, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary mentioned Palestinians are ready for any information concerning the deal.
“We all know that the primary section of the ceasefire ended on March 1, and Israel and Hamas agreed on a truce for per week. At this time, that truce involves an finish,” Khoudary reported. “Palestinians are very anxious and confused that the second section of the ceasefire hasn’t taken impact but. Folks listed below are ready for any information from these negotiations and really feel that this ceasefire is fragile.”
As Palestinians look forward to information of the ceasefire, the Israeli blockade of humanitarian help is placing immense stress on folks already struggling to get by.
“This blockade is suffocating Palestinians. They’re saying they by no means imagined {that a} ceasefire and Ramadan would come and that they’d not have the ability to prepare dinner their favorite dishes,” Khoudary defined, including that neighborhood kitchens at the moment are working out of inventory.
On the finish of February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned humanitarian help would now not enter Gaza in retaliation for Hamas not accepting Israel’s proposal for section one of many ceasefire to be prolonged.
In the meantime, greater than 50 freed Israeli captives urged Netanyahu to completely implement the Gaza ceasefire and safe the discharge of these nonetheless held in Gaza.
“We who’ve skilled the inferno know {that a} return to conflict is life-threatening for these nonetheless left behind,” the 56 former captives mentioned in a letter posted on Instagram. “Implement the settlement in full in a single single manoeuvre.”
