GAZA CITY(National Times)- Gaza’s civil defence service reported that Israeli strikes killed nine people on Saturday, with Israel’s military saying one of the dead was a Hamas ‘‘commander”.
In Gaza City, a drone strike killed seven people and wounded 15 others in the Jawazat camp for displaced people, according to the civil defence, a rescue service that operates under Hamas.
The city’s Al-Shifa Hospital also reported receiving seven bodies.
Further south, a 25-year-old man, Muhannad Othman Farwana, was killed in the morning in a strike on a tent, the civil defence said.
Egypt hosts new round of truce talks with leaders from Hamas and other Palestinian factions
Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis said the man’s body was brought in along with several wounded.
In a statement, the Israeli army said Farwana was “a commander in the military wing” of Hamas, adding he was killed in a precision strike.
The strike had hit his tent on the roof of his house, just before he was due to get married later in the day, his cousin Mohammed Farwana said.
“The whole family was ready to celebrate his wedding. Now, we’re attending his funeral instead,” he said.
The civil defence announced in the evening a ninth person killed in an Israeli strike in southeast Gaza City, identifying him as a 37-year-old man. Israel and Hamas accuse each other of near-daily violations of the truce meant to halt the conflict in Gaza.
At least 951 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The Israeli army has reported five deaths within its ranks during the same period. Restrictions inmposed on media outlets and limited access in Gaza from independently verifying tolls or freely covering the violence there.
A ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump has failed to halt Israeli attacks and left Israel in control of more than half the enclave.
Indirect talks on a second phase of the deal — including Hamas disarmament and Israeli troop withdrawals — have stalled.
Cairo talks
On Saturday, Egypt began hosting a new round of truce talks with leaders from Hamas and other Palestinian factions expected to last for a few days, Hamas and other sources close to the negotiation said.
Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, said the talks would focus on Israel’s implementation of the first phase, and reaching common ground on proceeding toward the second phase.
Hamas told mediators, Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye and envoys of Trump’s Board of Peace that ending Israeli attacks in Gaza was essential for any progress, sources from the group said.
Hamas wants Israel to end attacks, allow more aid into Gaza and withdraw to ceasefire lines.
