CNN
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Seven members of the same family were killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Gaza on Sunday, medical officials said, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to Israel to lobby for a ceasefire and hostage-taking agreement.
According to Al-Aqsa Hospital, at least seven people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a house in Deir al-Balah on Sunday, including six children and their mother. The children’s father was injured, a hospital spokesman said.
Muhammad Awad Khattab, the children’s grandfather, told CNN: “They were surprised when they were hit by a rocket and their home was completely destroyed.”
“What did they do to deserve this?” he added. “What resistance did they offer?”
As the war rages in Gaza, Blinken is traveling to Israel to – in the words of a senior administration official – “continue to stress the importance of getting this (deal) done.”
The new attack in Gaza came just a day after an Israeli strike in the al-Zawayda neighborhood of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza killed at least 15 people, all from the same family. According to the Gaza Civil Defense, nine children were among those killed.
In a statement on Sunday, the Israeli military said forces remained deployed in Khan Yunis and Dir al-Balah. It said the military “attacked targets in the area from which the rockets were fired towards Nirim (Friday) and destroyed loaded rocket launchers in the Khan Yunis area.”
The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for the north of Khan Younis and the east of Deir al-Balah on Friday, further reducing the boundaries of the humanitarian zone designated by Israel.
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are facing a flood of evacuation orders. According to the UN, more than 80 percent of the Gaza Strip has been affected by such orders since October last year, severely affecting the local population’s access to vital services and shelter.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza – which began after the October 7 Hamas attacks – has left more than 40,000 people dead and large parts of the area in ruins. To add to Gaza’s woes, doctors this week identified the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Israel later Sunday amid urgent efforts underway to finalize an elusive ceasefire and hostage agreement in the Gaza Strip.
A new ceasefire plan was unveiled on Friday by the United States, Qatar and Egypt after two days of high-level talks in Doha. The mediators have stepped up their efforts because they fear Iranian retaliation for the killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran.
Blinken’s visit has become a regular pattern for the top US diplomat, who travels for face-to-face meetings to demonstrate public pressure at the highest levels on the need for a deal. On Monday, he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior figures.
The senior government official declined to comment on how the US plans to pressure the Israeli government to accept the agreement.
“I think it’s obvious that an agreement would not only be in the interest of the Israeli people, but would also help alleviate the suffering in Gaza. We will address all of these issues head-on,” they told the press traveling with Blinken.
US officials, including President Joe Biden, expressed optimism that a ceasefire agreement could be reached. However, Hamas denied such progress. A senior official of the militant group told the BBC that the mediators were “selling illusions”.
According to the Israeli prime minister, the Israeli negotiating team is still cautiously optimistic that a ceasefire and hostage-taking will be reached. In a statement from the Israeli prime minister on Saturday, he said there was “hope that the strong pressure” from the US and mediators on Hamas “will enable a breakthrough in the negotiations”.
