A girl stands amid the rubble following an Israeli strike that hit the home of a Palestinian family in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. AFP
The dead included 10 people in the southern city of Khan Younis, four in the central town of Deir al-Balah and nine in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to the Nasser, Al-Aqsa and Al-Ahli hospitals where the bodies were brought.
Israel faces mounting international criticism for its brutal war and pressure to let aid into Gaza amid a humanitarian crisis. Gaza has been under an Israeli blockade for nearly three months, with experts warning that many of its 2 million residents are at high risk of famine.
Even the United States, a staunch ally, has voiced concerns over the hunger crisis.
The strikes that lasted into Friday morning came a day after Israeli tanks and drones attacked a hospital in northern Gaza, igniting fires and causing extensive damage, Palestinian hospital officials said on Thursday.
Videos taken by a health official at Al-Awda Hospital show walls blown away and thick black smoke billowing from wreckage.
No movement on ceasefire negotiations in Doha
Earlier this week, Netanyahu said he was recalling his high-level negotiating team from the Qatari capital, Doha, after a week of ceasefire talks failed to bring results. A working team will remain.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said a “fundamental gap” remained between the two parties and that none of the proposals was able to bridge their differences.
Hamas said no real ceasefire talks have taken place since last week in Doha. The group accused Netanyahu of “falsely portraying participation” and attempting to “mislead global public opinion” by keeping Israel’s delegation there without engaging in serious negotiations.
Israel’s genocidal war, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, mostly women and children.
Settler violence in the occupied West Bank
Palestinians in the village of Bruqin, in the northern West Bank, said Israeli settlers attacked them Thursday afternoon, burning cars and damaging houses. The U.N.'s humanitarian agency said eight residents were injured, with most sustaining burns while trying to extinguish fires.
“We’ve been suffering since Wednesday from settler attacks and assaults — verbal abuse, stone throwing, and constant harassment at all times,” said Mustafa Khater, whose house was attacked. He said he had previously evacuated his wife and four children for fear of attacks, but had stayed behind to protect the house. The attack follows last week's killing of a pregnant Israeli woman near Bruqin.
The West Bank is home to about three million Palestinians, but also some 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.
Israel's ongoing war on Gaza has fuelled a surge in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, with the Israeli military carrying out large-scale assaults that have killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands.
The escalation has coincided with a rise in settler attacks — including arson, stone-throwing, the use of incendiary devices against homes, and bulldozing of Palestinian land — and has at times prompted retaliatory attacks by Palestinians.
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