Israeli shelling in central Gaza killed 47 Palestinians on Friday [Photo by Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images]
Overnight shelling by Israeli forces on the besieged Gaza Strip killed at least 47 Palestinians, according to local reports, as negotiations to end Israel’s war on the enclave falter.
Israel’s shelling targeted the areas of Deir el-Balah, Nuseirat and al-Zawaida, with Palestinian news agency Wafa reporting that the bodies of the 47 killed had arrived at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
The report noted that most of those killed were from Nuseirat and that dozens were also wounded in the shelling.
Israeli strikes on Thursday also targeted the Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza, injuring staff members and hitting storage space that held supplies from the World Health Organisation and a desalination station, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The shelling came after the arrest of Doctors without Borders (MSF) orthopaedic surgeon at the hospital, Dr Mohammed Obeid, who MSF said on Thursday had been arrested by Israeli forces on 26 October. MSF has requested information from the Israeli military about Dr Obeid’s detention status, location and condition.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 43,204 Palestinians and wounded a further 101,641 others, leaving much of the enclave in ruins.
The continued strikes on Gaza come as negotiations stumble after being picked up by international negotiators earlier this week.
On Thursday senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said that the group would reject any proposal that would allow a resumption of hostilities at a later date.
It comes following discussions between Israeli, US, Egyptian and Qatari negotiations around a short-term ceasefire that could facilitate a longer-ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, is insisting on a deal that would allow the war on Gaza to continue.
In an interview with Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon, Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said that “the Israeli army will remain in the Gaza Strip for many years”.
Israeli forces are currently occupying the Philadelphi Corridor in the south and the Netzarim Corridor that divides north and central Gaza. It has also besieged north Gaza’s Jabalia and Beit Lahia.
Israeli soldiers occupying parts of the enclave have been killed, with the Israeli military announcing on Friday that one soldier succumbed to wounds sustained in a September incident in which four other soldiers also died.
At least 366 soldiers have been killed since the start of the Israeli invasion of Gaza, according to the Israeli military, which is accused of downplaying casualty figures to maintain morale and control public perception.
Israel’s onslaught of Gaza has spurred calls for it to be suspended from the UN, with special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese making the case at the UN’s headquarters in New York on Wednesday.
