CAIRO/GAZA July 16 (Reuters) - Israeli forces clashed with Hamas-led fighters in various parts of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Palestinian health officials reported that at least 50 people were killed in Israeli bombardments of southern and central regions.
The Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas has accused Israel of intensifying attacks in Gaza to disrupt efforts by Arab mediators and the United States to broker a ceasefire deal. Israel claims it is targeting Hamas fighters.
In Rafah, a southern border city where Israeli forces have been operating since May, five Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a house, according to Gaza health officials. In neighboring Khan Younis, a man, his wife, and two children were killed, they said.
Later on Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle killed at least 17 Palestinians and injured 26 others in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the officials said. The airstrike hit near a tent area housing displaced families on Attar Road, the health ministry reported.
In the historic Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, at least four Palestinians were killed in separate shelling and airstrikes, according to medics. An Israeli airstrike killed four more in Sheikh Zayed in northern Gaza, they said.
Hours later, an Israeli airstrike on a school in the Nuseirat camp killed 16 people and injured many others, health officials said. The strike hit a UN-run school that housed displaced families, the ministry said.
The Israeli military stated that troops continued "intelligence-based" operations in Rafah and that airstrikes targeted militants, tunnels, and other Hamas military infrastructure. The Israeli air force reportedly struck around 40 targets across the territory, including observation posts, military structures, and buildings rigged with explosives.
The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, claimed their fighters had attacked Israeli forces in several areas with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs. Islamic Jihad's armed wing stated it had fired rockets at Sderot in southern Israel. There were no reports of deaths or severe damage.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after its militants killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages in an attack on southern Israeli communities last October 7, according to Israeli counts. Since then, at least 38,713 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory offensive, Gaza health authorities reported in their latest update on Tuesday. Israel also stated that 326 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza.
Relatives visited Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza to say goodbye to family members before funerals. "This is so unfair, the number of casualties, every minute there is a casualty," said elderly Palestinian Sahar Abu Emeira. "We are exhausted, we are devastated, we are very tired, our patience is finished. Whether Hamas or the others (Israel), they need to agree quickly."
Talks Stalled
Efforts mediated by Egypt and Qatar to end the conflict and secure the release of hostages, as well as Palestinians in Israeli prisons, appeared to be making some progress, negotiators had said. The talks stalled on Saturday after three days of intensive negotiations failed to produce a viable outcome, according to Egyptian security sources, and following an Israeli strike targeting Hamas' top military commander, Mohammed Deif. The attack in the Khan Younis area killed more than 90 people and injured hundreds, Gaza health authorities reported.
A Palestinian official close to the negotiations told Reuters that Hamas was keen not to be seen as abandoning the talks despite the intensified Israeli attacks. "Hamas wants the war to end, but not at any cost. It says it has shown the necessary flexibility and is urging the mediators to get Israel to reciprocate," the official said. He added that Hamas believed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to avoid an agreement by adding more conditions, such as restricting the return of displaced people to northern Gaza and maintaining control over the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday that two senior advisors to Netanyahu had stated Israel was still committed to reaching a ceasefire.
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