Israeli tank and drone strikes in Gaza on Wednesday killed at least 17 people. The strikes happened in Deir al𒐪-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis in the south.
The death toll was confirmed by hospital staff and journalists from the Associated Press who counted the bodies
In a related incident, Leba🐈non's Hezbollah fired more than 50 rockets into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, hitting several homes. Hezbollah said this was in response to an 🎉Israeli attack in Lebanon the night before.
The violence follows a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and mediators from Egypt and Qatar, who are trying to secure a cease-fire in Gaza. Despite their efforts, both Hamas and Israel aꦉre still facing significant challenges.
Egypt, which is playing a ke💝y role in the negotiations, expressed doubts on Wednesday about the latest proposal to end the conflict. Egyptian officials belie🐷ve Hamas won't agree to the plan due to concerns that it won't fully remove Israeli forces from Gaza.
US President Joe Biden also spoke with Israeli 🌠Pr🦋ime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, but details of the conversation have not been shared.
H▨amas is thought to still hold around 110 hostages from the Octob💮er 7 attacks that started the war. Israel estimates that about a third of these hostages are likely dead. During the October 7 attacks, Hamas killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
In response, Israel's ongoing military actions have killed over 40,000 Palestinians, accord༺ing to Gaza's Health Ministry. The war has led to widespread♋ destruction and forced most of Gaza's 2.3 million residents to flee their homes, often more than once.
