Israel has carried out several deadly attacks on Gaza overnight and into Monday morning, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more, Palestinian media and medics said.
Attacks occurred against the Barakat family in the Sheikh Radwan area, north of Gaza City, killing four people.
One child and a woman were killed following an attack near the Omari Mosque in central Gaza, while others have been killed in Jabalia, Nuseirat and Rafah.
Among the victims was Thabat Salim, a doctor who worked as a volunteer at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced confidence on Monday that a ceasefire deal in Gaza “would come together” in the coming weeks, but possibly after President Joe Biden leaves office on January 20 to make way for Donald Trump’s second term as US President.
Blinken, who has repeatedly and unsuccessfully attempted to broker a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, said that the Biden administration “will work every minute of every day” until the end of its term to secure a hostage deal.
“We very much want to bring this over the finish line in the next two weeks,” Blinken told reporters on a visit to Seoul.
“If we don’t get it across the finish line in the next two weeks, I’m confident that it will get its completion at some point, hopefully, sooner rather than later,” Blinken said.
A Hamas official said Sunday the group was ready to free 34 hostages in the “first phase” of a potential deal with Israel, which said that indirect talks had resumed in Qatar.
Blinken said there had been an “intensified engagement” by Hamas on reaching a deal, but that it was not yet complete.
