GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed more than 40 Palestinians, including at a market and a water distribution point, as talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stalled.
Delegations from Israel and the Palestinian militant group have now spent a week trying to agree on a temporary truce to halt 21 months of devastating fighting in the Gaza Strip.
But on Saturday, each side accused the other of blocking attempts to secure an agreement at the indirect talks in the Qatari capital, Doha.
On the ground, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said at least 43 people were killed in the latest Israeli strikes, including 11 when a market in Gaza City was hit.
Elsewhere, eight children were among the 10 victims of a drone strike at a water point in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, Bassal said.
Israel’s military blamed a Jihad.
“As a result of a technical error with the munition, the munition fell dozens of meters from the target,” a statement read. “The incident is under review.”
Reports of casualties were being examined, it added.
Khaled Rayyan told AFP he was woken by the sound of two large explosions after a house was hit in Nuseirat.
“Our neighbour and his children were under the rubble,” he said.
Another resident, Mahmud al-Shami, called on the negotiators to secure an end to the war.
“What happened to us has never happened in the entire history of humanity,” he said. “Enough.”
The Israeli military, which has recently intensified operations across Gaza, said in a statement that in the past 24 hours the air force “struck more than 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip”.
It released aerial footage of what it said were fighter jet strikes attacking Hamas targets around Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, showing explosions on the ground and thick smoke in the sky.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties.
UN agencies on Saturday warned that fuel shortages had reached “critical levels”, threatening to worsen conditions for Gaza’s more than two million people.
On Sunday, the Handala — a former Norwegian trawler loaded with medical supplies, food and children’s equipment — set off from Sicily.
The pro-Palestinian activists on board hope to reach Gaza, despite Israel having recently detained and deported people aboard a previous vessel, the Madleen, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Talks to seal a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release were in the balance on Saturday after Israel and Hamas accused each other of trying to block a deal.
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