Israel continued to strike Gaza on Monday as the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met United States President Donald Trump in the White House, discussing a new potential ceasefire agreement.
A charity kitchen meant to provide the Palestinians with cooked food was hit by an Israeli strike on Monday while it was crowded, the Associated Press reported citing hospital officials.
The strike was one of many by Israel that killed over 30 people in Gaza on Monday, most of whom were children and women.
The Israeli strike on the charity kitchen came after Israel cut off all food, fuel, medicine, and other supplies for Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people over a month ago and people depended on such kitchens for food.
A Gazan woman, whose nephew died in the strike and whose daughter got wounded, said that they had nothing but a pot with them while they went to collect food. “They were going to get food. I told her, ‘Daughter, don’t go’…These were children, and they had nothing with them but a pot. Is a pot a weapon?” AP quoted her as saying.
A local journalist, along with one other person, was also killed in an Israeli strike that hit a media tent outside a hospital in Gaza, AP reported citing medics.
The Israeli army, however, said that they were targeting a man whom they believed was working as a Hamas militant under the guise of being a journalist. Six other journalists were wounded in the attack.
Another ceasefire agreement between Israel and Gaza might be in works as the former seeks to get all its hostages released from Hamas captivity, US President Donald Trump and Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu hinted after their White House meeting on Monday.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Netanyahu said, “We’re working now on another deal that we hope will succeed, and we’re committed to getting all the hostages out.”
“The hostages are in agony, and we want to get them all out,” he added.
“We are trying very hard to get the hostages out. We’re looking at another ceasefire, we’ll see what happens,” said Trump.
The meeting between Trump and Netanyahu, which largely focussed on the trade relations between the two countries and ending the war in Gaza, came after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Gaza collapsed last month.
Earlier this year, in January, Israel and Gaza had agreed to a three-phased ceasefire agreement which would see six weeks of complete ceasefire between the two countries as they engage in exchange of hostages and prisoners. However, the ceasefire ended on March 18 when Israel attacked Gaza, leading to at least 413 people dying.
During the truce, Hamas returned 33 Israeli hostages, including eight hostages that died, in exchange for the release of some 1,800 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
However, Israel decided to end the truce over disagreements with Hamas on a path forward for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, leaving the fate of around 60 Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity uncertain.
The war between Israel and Gaza was triggered on October 7, 2023 when Hamas stormed and attacked Israel, killing over 1,100 people and taking 251 people hostage.
Out of the 251 hostages, 58 currently remain in Hamas’ captivity, including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead.
With AFP, AP inputs.
