Israeli airstrikes on Gaza strip continue as hopes for a cease-fire grow

Israeli airstrikes against Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza Strip continued for a third day Friday The Palestinian death toll rose to 30 authorities said as foreign mediators pressed ahead with efforts to reach a ceasefireAfter the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group fired longerrange rockets toward Israel Thursday sending shrapnel slicing through apartments that killed one person the Israeli military said its warplanes struck Islamic Jihad rocket launchers Gaza residents reported explosions in farms near the southern city of Rafah There were no immediate reports of casualtiesDespite those sporadic Israeli strikes the situation early Friday was relatively calm Islamic Jihad held its rocket fire overnight raising hopes that Egypt Qatar and the United Nations would be able to broker a ceasefire The crossborder exchanges this week have pitted Israel against Islamic Jihad the secondlargest militant group in Gaza after the territorys Hamas rulers Since Tuesday Israel says its strikes have killed five senior Islamic Jihad figuresIslamic Jihad has retaliated with over 800 rockets fire toward densely populated parts of Israel In that time Israels military said it has used airstrikes to hit at least 215 targets in Gaza including rocket and mortar launch sites and militants preparing to use themAt least 30 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been killed in the fighting including seven children and four women according to the UN humanitarian office At least three of the children were killed by misfired Palestinian rockets according to the Israeli military and the Palestinian Centre for Rights Over 90 Palestinians have been wounded the Palestinian Health Ministry reportedThe civilians deaths have already drawn condemnation from the Arab world and concern from the United States and Europe In its past four wars against Hamas Israel has repeatedly faced accusations of war crimes due to the high civilian death tolls and its use of heavy weapons against the crowded enclave Israel in turn contends that Palestinian militant groups use civilians as human shields by fighting in their midstAlso readJournalist Shireen killing One year on demand for justice continuesHamas the de facto civilian government with an army of some 30000 in Gaza has sought to maintain its truce with Israel while attempting to keep abysmal living conditions in the blockaded enclave from spiralling since a devastating 11day war in 2021 that killed over 260 Palestinians The group which seized control of Gaza in 2007 has sat out this round of fighting as it did a similar burst of violence last summer In a sign of restraint Israel has limited its airstrikes to Islamic Jihad targetsBoth sides had seemed on the brink of a ceasefire before the eruption of Thursdays violence Fridays relative quiet boosted hopes of progress Hamas officials told local media early Friday that Egypt was ramping up its diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting through intensive contacts with both Hamas and Islamic JihadIslamic Jihad figures have sent mixed signals about the ceasefire talks Senior official Ihasan Attaya complained early Friday that the mediators have been unable to provide us with any guarantees A sticking point has been Islamic Jihads demands that Israel cease its policy of targeted killings Attaya saidThis weeks battles began when Israel launched on Tuesday simultaneous airstrikes that killed three Islamic Jihad commanders along with some of their wives and children as they slept in their homes Israel said it was retaliating for a barrage of rocket fire launched last week by Islamic Jihad following the death of one of its West Bank members Khader Adnan from a hunger strike while in Israeli custodyIslamic Jihad political bureau member Mohamad alHindi sounded more optimistic From Cairo where he traveled Thursday to hash out the details of a possible truce he told media that he hoped both sides would reach a ceasefire agreement and honour it today This weeks airstrikes and rockets have shifted the focus of conflict back to Gaza after months of surging violence in the occupied West Bank under Israels most rightwing government in historyIsrael has been carrying out nearnightly arrest raids in the West Bank that have killed 109 Palestinians so far this year the highest such death toll in two decades At least half of the dead are affiliated with militant groups according to a tally by The Associated Press At least 20 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis during that timeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever