Overnight Israeli airstrike on buildings in Rafah reportedly kills displaced Palestinians
Israel claims that Hamas's rejection of the current proposal for a Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel shows the “damage” caused by the UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel would not capitulate to what it called the “delusional demands” of Palestinian militants.
It includes an end to the war and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The US called Israel's statement “inaccurate in almost every respect.”
A State Department spokesperson claimed that Hamas' response was prepared before Monday's Security Council vote.
“We have checked all information,” said spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari. “Marwan Issa was eliminated on strike.”
Hamas political official Izzat al-Rishq said he had “no confidence” in Israel's claims and that Hamas's military leadership had “the final say”.
Maj. Gen. Hagari said Issa was the group's “number three” and “one of the organizers” of the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took 253 others hostage. said.
More than 32,400 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 81 in the past 24 hours, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Israel reacted furiously after the United Nations Security Council adopted its first resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the war in Gaza, after months of deadlock over the issue.
Fourteen council members, including the UK, voted in favor of the document, which also called for the unconditional release of all remaining hostages and an urgent increase in humanitarian supplies.
The United States, Israel's closest ally and military backer, criticized the resolution for not condemning Hamas for the October 7 attack.
However, in a sign of growing dissatisfaction with the way Israel was conducting the war, the United States abstained, saying it fully supported the main objective.
Israel protested by canceling an Israeli delegation's planned visit to Washington to discuss a planned ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million people have fled. The United States warned that a full-scale attack could cause a humanitarian catastrophe.
Hamas later issued a statement rejecting the latest cease-fire plan proposed by US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators during indirect talks in Doha.
The group said it would stick to its original demands for a “permanent ceasefire leading to the complete withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said on Tuesday morning that Hamas's stance “clearly shows its complete indifference to negotiating the agreement and proves the damage caused by the UN Security Council resolution.”
He added: “Israel will not accede to Hamas's delusional demands.” “Israel will pursue and achieve its legitimate war goals of destroying Hamas' military and government capabilities, freeing all hostages, and ensuring that Gaza poses no threat to the Israeli people in the future. ”
The UK was one of 14 countries to vote in favor of the Security Council resolution, while the US abstained.
However, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller rejected this criticism.
“That statement is inaccurate in almost every respect and unfair to the hostages and their families,” he told reporters in Washington.
“All the accounts of Hamas's response that have been circulated to the public are press reports. That is not the actual content of the response. What can be said is that the response was prepared before, not after, the UN Security Council vote. That is to say.”
Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majid Al-Ansari told a news conference in Doha that indirect talks “are ongoing and have not stopped.”
“No date has been set for negotiations, but we are continuing our mediation efforts with our partners,” he said, adding that negotiations were currently taking place “at the technical team level.”
However, Israeli media and Reuters quoted Israeli officials as saying that Israel recalled the negotiating team from Qatar after 10 days of talks.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said during a visit to Iran, which arms and funds Hamas, that the resolution showed Israel was experiencing “unprecedented political isolation.” He said there was.
During a week-long ceasefire in late November, 105 hostages were released in exchange for about 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
The latest deal, rejected by Hamas, reportedly proposes a six-week cessation of fighting and the release of 40 hostages still held by Hamas in exchange for as many as 800 Palestinian prisoners.
There is no sign of the war on the ground in Gaza letting up, with recent Israeli airstrikes reportedly killing dozens of Palestinians.
Palestinian media and local health authorities said at least 18 people, including nine children, were killed in the attack on a residential building on the outskirts of Rafah. They said the house in the Musaba area belonged to the Abu Nakira family and that dozens of displaced people were taking shelter there.
In northern Gaza, a member of the Abu Hasira family told Reuters that about 30 people were killed in an attack on the family compound near Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital.
The Israeli military announced on Tuesday morning that it had attacked 60 targets in the past 24 hours, including “terrorist tunnels, terrorist infrastructure, and military facilities with confirmed armed terrorists.”
Furthermore, eight days after launching attacks targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters who were said to have regrouped in the area, the Israeli military said it was “continuing precise operations in the Al-Shifa hospital area.” ” he added.
Palestinians and aid groups say the heavy fighting is putting patients, medical workers and displaced people trapped with few supplies at risk. The military announced that 175 “terrorists” were killed and no civilians were harmed.
WATCH: Watch video of aid drop falling into sea as Gazans reportedly drown
Also on Tuesday, Gaza's Hamas-run government media office said 18 Palestinians were trying to retrieve aid airdropped in northern Gaza amid warnings of impending famine in the region. announced that he had died.
The statement said 12 people drowned when they went into the sea to retrieve food packages. The remaining six people were trampled to death in a “mass attack” when other aid items landed on the ground, the statement said.
The statement did not provide further details about the incident. But there was video footage showing at least one person drowning after being airdropped from the coast near the northern town of Beit Lahia on Monday.
According to Reuters, the Pentagon said three of the 18 bundles of aid airdropped by US military planes over northern Gaza on Monday fell into the sea after their parachutes malfunctioned, but could not confirm whether there were any fatalities. It was announced that there was no.
The 35-year-old father of two was injured and kidnapped in the attack on the Supernova music festival on October 7th.
Amit Susana, 40, is the first former hostage to publicly say he was sexually abused while in captivity, the newspaper said.
