Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza as Hamas weighs Trump peace plan

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 57 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip health officials said Thursday as Hamas was still considering its response to US President Donald Trumps proposal for ending the nearly twoyear warThe plan requires Hamas to return all 48 hostages about 20 of them thought by Israel to be alive give up power and disarm in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and an end to fighting However the proposal which has been accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sets no path to Palestinian statehoodPalestinians long for the war to end but many believe the plan favours Israel and a Hamas official told The Associated Press that some elements were unacceptable without elaborating Qatar and Egypt two key mediators said it requires more negotiations on certain elementsIsrael intercepts activist aid flotillaAt least 29 people were killed by Israeli fire in southern Gaza according to Nasser Hospital which received the bodies Officials there said 14 of them were killed in an Israeli military corridor where there have been frequent shootings around the distribution of humanitarian aidOfficials at AlAqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir alBalah said they had received 16 dead from Israeli strikes Doctors Without Borders said one of its occupational therapists was killed while waiting for a bus in Deir alBalah in a strike that seriously wounded four other people The international charity described Omar Hayek 42 as a quiet man of profound kindness and professionalismHayek who had recently fled south from Gaza City is the 14th staffer from the organisation to have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war it said In Gaza City health officials at Shifa Hospital said they received five bodies and several wounded people adding that its staff are having difficulties reaching the hospital as Israel wages a major offensive aimed at occupying the cityOther hospitals reported an additional seven deaths from Israeli fire There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military which says it only strikes militants and accuses Hamas of putting civilians in danger by operating in populated areas Israel has meanwhile intercepted most of the more than 40 vessels in a widely watched flotilla carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid for Palestinians and aiming to break Israels 18year blockade of Gaza according to organisersIsraels Foreign Ministry said on social media that activists on board including Greta Thunberg and several European lawmakers were safe and were being taken to Israel to begin procedures for their deportation In the occupied West Bank a Palestinian militant was killed and another arrested on Thursday after they carried out a carramming and shooting attack on an Israeli army checkpoint the military said adding that no soldiers were woundedAwaiting word from HamasA senior Hamas official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that some points in the proposal agreed upon by Trump and Netanyahu are unacceptable and must be amended without elaborating He said the official response will only come after consultations with other Palestinian factions Speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media about the ongoing talks the official said Hamas had conveyed its concerns to Qatar and EgyptThe Hamasled attack on southern Israel on Oct 7 2023 that triggered the war killed some 1200 people while 251 others were abducted Most of the hostages have been freed under previous ceasefire deals The Trump plan would guarantee the flow of humanitarian aid and promises reconstruction in Gaza placing its more than 2 million Palestinians under international governanceMounting toll in GazaIsraels campaign in Gaza has killed more than 66200 Palestinians and wounded nearly 170000 others according to Gazas Health Ministry The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its toll but has said women and children make up around half the dead The ministry is part of the Hamasrun government UN agencies and many independent experts view its figures as the most reliable estimate of wartime casualtiesAround 400000 Palestinians have fled faminestricken Gaza City since Israel launched a major offensive there last month On Thursday morning smoke could be seen in northern Gaza and people were fleeing the area headed south Israels defense minister on Wednesday ordered all remaining Palestinians to leave Gaza City saying it was their last opportunity and that anyone who stayed would be considered a militant supporterWhile Hamas military capabilities have been vastly depleted it still carries out sporadic attacks On Wednesday at least seven projectiles were launched into Israel from Gaza but all were either intercepted or fell in open areas with no reports of casualties the Israeli military saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for 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