▲ A Palestinian child rests on the rubble of a building near a food distribution centre in Jabaliya.Afp Photo
Reuters, AP, AFP, Europa Press, Prensa Latina and Sputnik
The newspaper La Jornada
Thursday, August 22, 2024, p. 31
Jerusalem. At least 50 Palestinians were killed in the latest round of Israeli bombings on Gaza, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken unsuccessfully concluded a new trip to the Middle East to push for a peace agreement between Israel and Hamas.
As desperate diplomatic efforts to halt the 10-month war between Israel and Hamas continued, the Israeli military said its aircraft struck some 30 targets across the strip, including tunnels, launching bases and an observation post.
According to the Israeli army, its troops killed dozens of fighters and seized explosives, grenades and automatic rifles.
The army has issued new evacuation orders in the overcrowded areas of Deir Balah and Khan Yunis, affecting more than 150,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the United Nations warned.
In Deir Balah, evacuation orders were followed shortly after by tank fire that left at least one dead and several wounded by machine gun fire, medics and residents said.
In talks Blinken held with ceasefire mediators Egypt and Qatar, as well as Israel, he warned that Time is of the essenceeven though Hamas and Israel indicated that challenges remain.
Hours after Blinken’s term ended, US President Joe Biden pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza during a phone call yesterday, the White House reported.
The conversation included Vice President Kamala Harris, he reported. The Jerusalem Post.
Meanwhile, the headquarters of the Hostage Families Forum accused Netanyahu of being directly responsible for the failure of negotiations with Hamas to end the war in which Israel has killed 40,223 Palestinians.
Meanwhile, an Israeli strike killed Jalil al Maqdah, a leader of the Palestinian Fatah movement, near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon.
The death of Maqdah is Further proof that Israel wants to unleash a full-scale war in the regionaccused Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel accused Jalil Maqdah, leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades – Fatah’s armed wing – of working for Iran and being involved in terrorist attacks.