Israel has struck houses and tents in central and southern Gaza, crushing families inside and killing at least 17 Palestinians, including 10 children and three women, local health officials reported. This escalation comes as international pressure for a ceasefire continues to grow.
On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, French President Emmanuel Macron told France 24 that his country had recognized a Palestinian state, convinced it is the only way to isolate Hamas. He emphasized that Hamas has proven capable of regenerating even after many of its leaders have been killed.
“Total war in Gaza is causing civilian casualties but can’t bring about the end of Hamas,” Macron said in an interview on Wednesday. “You cannot stop the war if there is no path to peace. Factually, it’s a failure.”
Macron also revealed that he has been lobbying US President Donald Trump to press Israel for a ceasefire. “You cannot stop the war if there is no path to peace,” he reiterated.
Some Israeli ministers within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have pushed for annexing the occupied West Bank in response to international recognition of Palestinian statehood. Such a move could effectively strip the Palestinian Authority of all civil and security powers in the territory.
Macron warned that such annexation would be a red line for France and likely for the United States as well. Neither the White House nor the State Department responded to requests for comment on Macron’s statement.
Netanyahu has stated that he will not make any decisions until he returns from the United States, where he is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Friday and then meet with President Trump in Washington.
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In the early hours of Thursday, an Israeli strike hit a tent and a house in the central town of Zawaida, killing at least 12 people, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah. Among the dead were a couple and five of their children, along with three other children.
Associated Press footage showed the building collapsed into a pile of rubble, a dust-covered arm of a child sticking out from under a slab of concrete. Relatives said another child remains missing under the wreckage.
Another strike hit a tent in Deir al-Balah, killing a girl and wounding seven people, the hospital reported.
In the southern city of Khan Younis, an Israeli attack struck an apartment building, killing a man, his pregnant wife, their 10-year-old child, and a female relative, according to Nasser Hospital, where the bodies were taken.
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On Monday, France, Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, and Monaco announced or confirmed their recognition of a Palestinian state, hoping to galvanize support for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict. Their announcements followed similar moves by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal, all in defiance of Israel and the US.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at the idea early on Thursday before heading to New York. “At the UN General Assembly, I will speak our truth,” he told reporters. “I will denounce those leaders who, instead of denouncing the murderers, the rapists, the child burners, want to give them a state in the heart of the land of Israel. It will not happen.”
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At separate events in New York on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Trump’s lead negotiator, Steve Witkoff, expressed optimism about what Witkoff called a “Trump 21-point plan” for peace, which was presented to Arab leaders on Tuesday.
However, the US has not released details of the plan nor confirmed whether Israel or Hamas has accepted it.
Netanyahu suggested Israel’s position remains unchanged. “During my trip to the US, I will discuss our need to complete the goals of the war: to return all our hostages, to defeat Hamas and to expand the circle of peace that is open to us,” he said.
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The US, along with Egypt and Qatar, has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and facilitate hostage releases. These efforts suffered a major setback earlier this month when Israel carried out an airstrike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar.
Israel launched another major ground operation earlier this month in Gaza City, which experts say is now experiencing famine. More than 300,000 people have fled, but up to 700,000 remain, many unable to relocate due to financial constraints.
The UN humanitarian office, known as OCHA, warned that Israel’s closure this week of the border crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan threatens to severely undermine its ability to deliver aid to Gaza. Last month, a quarter of the aid destined for Gaza through the UN humanitarian effort entered via the Allenby Bridge Crossing over the Jordan River, also known as the King Hussein Bridge.
Israel announced the closure on Tuesday following an attack last week that killed two Israelis.
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Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people and wounded over 167,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry does not specify how many were civilians or combatants but states that women and children make up around half of the fatalities. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and its figures are widely regarded by UN agencies and independent experts as the most reliable estimates of wartime casualties.
The current Israeli campaign was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Forty-eight captives remain in Gaza, with around 20 believed by Israel to be alive after most others were freed through ceasefires or other deals.
https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/israeli-strikes-kill-at-least-17-palestinians-in-gaza-say-officials-1811030.html
