Israeli strike in Gaza kills 23 as Arab mediators seek long-term truce

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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An overnight Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City killed 23 people, as Arab mediators worked on a proposal to end the war with Hamas that would include a five-to-seven-year truce and the release of all remaining hostages, officials said Wednesday.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on the strike, which set several tents ablaze, burning people alive. The military says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because its fighters are embedded in densely populated areas. Another six people were killed in separate strikes, including 5-year-old twin girls.

France, Germany and Britain meanwhile said Israel’s seven-week blockade on all imports to Gaza, including food, was “intolerable,” in unusually strong criticism from three of the country’s closest allies.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to release the hostages in order to “block Israel’s pretexts” for continuing the war. He reiterated his demands that Hamas give up their arms, referring to them as “sons of dogs” in unusually strong language during a speech in the West Bank.

Abbas, who heads the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, has no influence over Hamas but seeks a role in postwar Gaza. Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said anyone making such insults has “lost their physical, psychological and mental eligibility for these leadership positions.”

A yearslong truce and a gradual withdrawal

Egypt and Qatar are still developing the proposal, which would include the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to an Egyptian official and a Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas last month and has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is destroyed or disarmed and sent into exile. It says it will hold parts of Gaza indefinitely and implement President Donald Trump’s proposal for the resettlement of the population in other countries, which has been widely rejected internationally.

Hamas has said it will only release the dozens of hostages it holds in return for Palestinian prisoners, a complete Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire, as called for in the now-defunct agreement reached in January. A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo late Tuesday to discuss the evolving proposal.

The Egyptian official said the proposed truce, with international guarantees, would last between five and seven years, and that a committee of politically independent technocrats would govern Gaza — a measure Hamas has accepted.

The Hamas official said the militant group is open to a long-term truce that includes the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and international guarantees, naming Russia, China, Turkey or the United Nations Security Council as possible guarantors.

Israel and the U.S. say Hamas must be destroyed or removed

There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials. Israel has ruled out any arrangement that would allow Hamas to preserve its influence in Gaza and rearm. The Trump administration, which has also been involved in the ceasefire talks, has said it fully supports Israel’s position.

Israel and the U.S. have pressed Hamas to accept a temporary truce in which it would immediately release several hostages in return for vague promises of talks on a more permanent ceasefire. Hamas has rejected those proposals and says it won’t disarm as long as Israel occupies Palestinian territory.

The Hamas official said the group does not trust Netanyahu or the U.S. after they shattered the existing ceasefire agreement, which had facilitated the release of over 30 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The Egyptian official said mediators had the impression that Trump wants a deal before he visits the region next month. Trump will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13 to May 16.

France, Germany and Britain condemn Israeli food blockade

Israel ended the ceasefire by launching a surprise bombardment across the territory that killed hundreds of Palestinians. Ground forces have expanded a buffer zone along the border and encircled the southern city of Rafah and now control around 50% of the territory.

Israel says the military operations and the tightened blockade are tactics to pressure Hamas to release hostages. Aid groups say thousands of children are malnourished and most people are surviving on one meal a day or less.

“The Israeli decision to block aid from entering Gaza is intolerable,” France, Germany and Britain said in their statement. They also condemned recent remarks by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who said the blockade was a pressure tactic and that troops would hold parts of Gaza indefinitely.

“Humanitarian aid must never be used as a political tool and Palestinian territory must not be reduced nor subjected to any demographic change. Israel is bound under international law to allow the unhindered passage of humanitarian aid,” the European statement said.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein rejected the criticism, disputing in a post on social media that there is a shortage of aid in Gaza. He said Israel was entitled to block the aid because it says Hamas seizes it for its own use.

In addition to the strike on the school, the Civil Defense, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, said it recovered four bodies from strikes on two homes in the same area. Another strike hit a home east of Gaza City, killing the twin girls, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. The militants still have 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

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Magdy reported from Cairo.

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