Hospital officials say Israeli airstrikes killed at least 40 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including 10 from the same family who were sheltering in a tent. Wednesday's strikes came as U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for a ceasefire that might end the war and free dozens of Israeli hostages. Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the second time in two days at the White House on Tuesday evening, but there was no sign of a breakthrough. Netanyahu has vowed to continue the 21-month war until Hamas is destroyed, while the militant group has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
The Israeli military says five soldiers have been killed in an attack in northern Gaza. Health officials in the Palestinian territory say Israeli strikes killed 51 people. The bloodshed came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting the White House on Tuesday for talks with President Donald Trump about a ceasefire plan. There was no announcement of a breakthrough from that meeting. But there were signs of progress toward a deal. The soldiers' deaths could add to pressure on Netanyahu to strike a deal in Israel where polls have shown widespread support for ending the 21-month war.
Witnesses and medics in Gaza say an Israeli airstrike on a seaside cafe has killed at least 30 people in Gaza City. And others say Israeli forces killed 22 people when they fired on crowds returning from a food aid site and at a United Nations warehouse. The Israeli military says it is reviewing the incidents. The cafe was one of the few businesses to continue operating during the war. It was a gathering spot for residents seeking internet access and a place to charge their phones.
Palestinian witnesses and hospitals say Israeli forces and drones have opened fire toward hundreds of people waiting for aid in southern and central Gaza, killing at least 44 people. Gaza's health authorities said Tuesday the number of Palestinians killed in the war has risen above 56,000. They say the dead include 5,759 who have been killed since Israel ended a two-month ceasefire on March 18. The new food-distribution sites run by an American contractor, with U.S. and Israeli government support, have been plagued by scenes of violence and chaos since opening last month.
The Gaza Health Ministry says that the Palestinian death toll from the 20-month Israel-Hamas war has climbed past 55,000. The ministry doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants but has said that women and children make up more than half the dead. The ministry gave the updated figures on Wednesday. It's a grim milestone in the war that began with Hamas' attack on Oct. 7, 2023, into southern Israel. The war shows no sign of ending. Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas. Israel accuses the militants of hiding among civilians because they operate in populated areas.
Israel has recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. Israeli strikes overnight and into Thursday meanwhile killed at least 13 people, including three local journalists who were in the courtyard of a hospital, according to health officials in the territory. The military said it targeted a militant in that strike. Israel said the remains of Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai were recovered in a special operation by the army and the Shin Bet internal security agency. The military says they were killed in the Oct. 7 attack. Hamas-led militants are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive.
An Israeli- and U.S.-backed group has temporarily paused food delivery at its three distribution sites in Gaza. That came after health officials said dozens of Palestinians were killed in a series of shootings near the sites this week. Separately, officials said Israeli strikes across the territory killed 26 people overnight and into Wednesday. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it was in discussions with the Israeli military on better guiding foot traffic near its distribution sites and enhancing military procedures. Gaza health officials, the Red Cross and the U.N. rights office said 27 people were killed Tuesday. Witnesses blamed Israeli forces. Israel's military said it fired near people it described as suspects and that it is looking into reports of casualties.
