CAIRO (Reuters) -The Israeli military said it killed a Palestinian it accused of involvement in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel in a vehicle strike in Gaza, while medics said at least 32 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across the enclave overnight and into Saturday.
The escalation comes as leaders of Hamas were expected to arrive in Cairo on Saturday for ceasefire talks with Egyptian officials, days after Israel and Hezbollah agreed to ceasefire in Lebanon, two officials of the group told Reuters.
Later on Saturday medics said nine people were killed when an Israeli air strike targeted a vehicle near a gathering of Palestinians receiving aid in the southern area of Khan Younis south of the enclave.
Residents and a Hamas source told Reuters that the vehicle targeted near a crowd receiving flour was used by security personnel tasked with overseeing aid deliveries into Gaza.
Among the 32 killed, at least seven died in an Israeli strike on a house in central Gaza City, according to a statement from the Gaza Civil Defense and the official Palestinian news agency WAFA early on Saturday.
The Gaza Civil Defense also reported that one of its officers was killed in attacks in northern Gaza’s Jabalia, bringing the total number of civil defense workers killed since October 7, 2023, to 88.
The Israeli military said it killed a Palestinian it accused of involvement in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel in a vehicle strike, and was investigating claims the individual was an employee of aid group World Central Kitchen.
Earlier on Saturday, WAFA reported that three employees of World Central Kitchen, a U.S.-based, non-governmental humanitarian agency, were killed when a civilian vehicle was targeted in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
The World Central Kitchen has not yet commented on the incident.
NEW EFFORTS TO REVIVE GAZA CEASEFIRE
Egypt is hosting a Hamas delegation in Cairo on Saturday to discuss a ceasefire, two Hamas officials told Reuters late on Friday.
The visit is the first since the United States announced earlier this week it would revive efforts in collaboration with Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza, similar to the recent agreement reached between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Hamas delegation is expected to meet with Egyptian security officials to explore ways to reach a ceasefire deal with Israel. However, progress remains limited due to disagreements between the two parties.
Hamas is seeking an agreement that would end the war and secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza. In contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the war will only end when Hamas is eradicated.
Meanwhile, a ceasefire in the parallel conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah took effect before dawn on Wednesday, halting hostilities that had escalated sharply in recent months. The accord, announced by U.S. President Joe Biden, overshadowed the Gaza conflict and marked a rare moment of calm in the region.
Biden has since urged Israel and Hamas to seize the opportunity for a Gaza ceasefire, reiterating his commitment to pursuing a diplomatic resolution.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 44,382 people and displaced nearly all of the enclave’s population at least once, Gaza officials say. Vast swathes of Gaza lie in ruins.
The conflict was triggered 13 months ago when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities, killing approximately 1,200 people and capturing over 250 hostages, according to Israeli officials.
(Reporting by Nidal Al Mughrabi, Adam Makary and Menna Alaa in Cairo and Emily Rose in Jerusalem; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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