An official at a hospital in northern Gaza sounds the alarm as the building faces Israeli bombardment “from all sides” after being ordered to leave, as ceasefire talks continue continue
One of the few hospitals in Gaza that is still partially functional sits in an area that has been under heavy Israeli military pressure for nearly three months. They were seeking emergency help after he was hit by Israeli fire.
“We are under daily threat,” said Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital on Monday. “The bombing continues from all sides, affecting the building, the departments and the workers.”
The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Meanwhile, at least 11 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across the sea on Monday, medics said.
Palestinians accuse Israel of trying to permanently annihilate northern Gaza to create a buffer zone, which Israel denies.
Israel says its operations around the three communities on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip – Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia – are targeting Hamas militants.
Tom Fletcher, the head of United Nations aid, said that Israeli forces have blocked efforts to deliver much-needed aid in northern Gaza.
“Northern Gaza has been under almost complete siege for more than two months, raising the specter of famine,” he said on Monday.
“Southern Gaza is overpopulated, creating dire living conditions and even more humanitarian needs as winter approaches. “
Gaps seem to be narrowing in a peace deal
Gaps between Israel and Hamas over the Gaza ceasefire may have narrowed, according to comments from Israeli and Palestinian officials on Monday, although crucial differences remain to be resolved.
A new offer by mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States to end the fighting and release Israeli and foreign hostages has moved forward this month, although it has not been reported no progress yet.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that progress had been made in ongoing talks with Hamas in Gaza but he did not know how long it would take to see results.
Talks to establish a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities agreement between Israel and Hamas have resumed in Cairo, and sources close to the negotiations say an agreement could be signed in the coming days. Palestinians in southern Gaza say they hope the war will end in this round of talks so that life can start again.
In a speech in Israel's Knesset, Netanyahu said that Israel had made “great achievements” militarily on several fronts and that military pressure on Hamas had forced its leaders to reduce their previous demands.
The Prime Minister said, amid heckles from opposition members, that Israel had consolidated its position as a “regional power.”
A Palestinian official familiar with the talks said that while some sticking points had been resolved, the identities of some of the Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in exchange for hostages had not yet been agreed, along with the use only Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
The length of the truce has been a default measure through several rounds of failed negotiations. Hamas wants to end the war, while Israel wants to end Hamas's rule of Gaza first.
“The issue of bringing the war to an end has not yet been resolved,” said a Palestinian official.
The war was sparked by Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken into Gaza, according to Israeli figures.
Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 45,200 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population of 2.3 million have disappeared and much of Gaza is in ruins.
