Dozens of bodies in Gaza City, “progress” in truce talks according to Biden

Around sixty bodies were recovered. discovered Friday in two neighborhoods of Gaza City targeted by Israeli military operations, according to the Civil Defense of the Palestinian Territory, after that US President Joe Biden reported "progress" in discussions for a truce.

In the tenth month of war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil on October 7, the fighting continues, particularly in Gaza- city ​​(north).

Hamas media reported “more than 70 airstrikes”, and 32 people killed in the night, the majority of whom were children and women, throughout the besieged territory.

In the southwest of Gaza City, “around 60” bodies were discovered Friday in the neighborhoods of Tal al-Hawa and al-Sinaa, according to Civil Defense.

Hamas denounced the “horrors discovered” in the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood.

Witnesses saw soldiers withdrawing from certain neighborhoods of Gaza City. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army did not immediately comment.

A man mourns the bodies of his loved ones in the al-Sinaa neighborhood of western Gaza City, July 12, 2024. © AFP – Omar AL-QATTAA

After months of international calls for a ceasefire, diplomatic efforts under the aegis of Qatar, Egypt and the United States are intensifying.

Joe Biden said Friday that the “framework” of the ceasefire plan he unveiled on May 31 had been “accepted by Israel and Hamas “. “There are still gaps to be filled. We are making progress. The trend is positive,” he said.

– “Violence, destruction, displacement” –

This photo released by the Israeli army on July 12, 2024 shows an Israeli soldier pointing his rifle from a building in the Gaza Strip © Israeli Army – –

The war broke out on October 7 after the unprecedented attack carried out by Hamas in southern Israel, which resulted in the death of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count established from from official Israeli data.

Of the 251 people kidnapped, 116 are still being held in Gaza, of whom 42 are dead, according to the army.

In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, which took power in the Gaza Strip in 2007, and launched an offensive that has so far left 38,345 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government.

“We (…) call on the international community to take immediate measures to put an end to the violence, destruction and displacement”, says Bassam Al- Haw, a volunteer who distributes food to Gazans threatened with starvation in Gaza City, saying he hopes for “a better future”.

People carry bodies through a neighborhood in Gaza City, July 12, 2024. © AFP – Omar AL-QATTAA

After Israeli incursions in several neighborhoods, the landscape of Gaza City is “apocalyptic”, denounced Friday Louise Wateridge, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa ), after a field visit.

The Israeli army again accused the UN agency on Friday of “being silent while Hamas uses its infrastructure” in the city.

UNRWA has been driven out from its headquarters in Gaza City and has “not had an official presence on site since October”, Ms. Wateridge told AFP, indicating that she did not know more.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, for his part, called on donors on Friday to continue financing UNRWA, threatened with running out of funds. funds, while in Gaza, “civilians are pushed a little deeper into the circles of hell”.

Map of the Gaza Strip locating the towns of Gaza, Rafah, Khan Younes, Deir el-Balah and Al-Zawayda © AFP – Sylvie HUSSON, Sabrina BLANCHARD

On Friday, the army said it had killed two Hamas commanders in Shujaiya, an eastern neighborhood of Gaza City where around sixty bodies had been discovered the day before after a two-week operation during which it claimed to have killed more than 150 “terrorists”.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had received “hundreds of calls in recent days from people desperately calling for help” in Gaza City, where the humanitarian crisis is considerable.

The Israeli army also said it was continuing its operations in Rafah (south), where it “eliminated numerous terrorists in close combat and through airstrikes”. Its aircraft targeted projectile launch sites in Beit Hanoun (north) after firing towards southern Israel.

– “Israel's security” –

Camp for displaced people in Khan Younes, southern Gaza Strip, July 11, 2024 © AFP – Eyad BABA

Regarding post-war scenarios, Hossam Badran, a member of the Hamas politburo, said his movement had proposed a “non-partisan government with national skills” to lead the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, without “any external interference”.

Young Palestinians carry pots of food in Nusseirat, central Gaza Strip, July 12, 2024 © AFP – Eyad BABA

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Intelligence Director David Barnea, returning from Doha, to provide an update on the progress of ceasefire talks -the fire and the release of hostages.

According to an official statement, a delegation led by the head of the Shin Bet (internal security), Ronen Bar, was to go to Cairo on Thursday evening to continue discussions.

Hamas announced on Sunday that he would agree to negotiate on the release of the hostages in the absence of a permanent ceasefire with Israel, which he had previously demanded.

People march towards Jerusalem in an attempt to pressure the Israeli government to negotiate a deal to release hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attack on October 7, July 11, 2024 © AFP – Menahem KAHANA

Mr. Netanyahu has always said he wants to continue the war until the destruction of Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, and the release of all the hostages.

“I am committed to the plan to release our hostages, but Hamas continues to adhere to demands that contradict the plan and endanger Israel's security,” he said Friday .

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