Israeli airstrikes across Gaza killed at least 25 people on Friday, including children, hospital workers said, as the new US ambassador to Israel made his first public appearance in Jerusalem.
The dead included 15 people killed in three strikes on the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.
Ten people were killed in Jabaliya, including eight from the same home, said the Indonesian Hospital, where the bodies were brought.
Photo: REUTERS
The strikes came a day after more than two dozen people died in Gaza, as Israel continued attacks, pressuring Hamas to disarm and return hostages it took in October 2023.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited the Western Wall on Friday, the holiest Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem’s Old City. He inserted a prayer into the wall, which he said was handwritten by US President Donald Trump.
“Those are his initials, D.T.,“ Huckabee said while showing the note to the media.
In his first act as ambassador, Huckabee said Trump told him to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Every effort was being made to bring home the remaining hostages held by Hamas, he added.
A one-time presidential hopeful, Huckabee has acknowledged his past support for Israel’s right to annex the West Bank and incorporate its Palestinian population into Israel, but said it would not be his “prerogative” to carry out that policy.
During his first term, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital over Palestinian objections and moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv. Palestinians seek the eastern part of the city, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as their future capital.
Huckabee’s arrival comes at a pivotal time in the 18-month war, as international mediators, including the US are trying to get a broken ceasefire back on track.
Israel is demanding that Hamas release more hostages at the start of any new ceasefire and ultimately agree to disarm and leave the territory. Israel has also said it plans to occupy large “security zones” inside Gaza.
Hamas’ negotiating delegation head Khalil al-Hayya on Thursday said the group had rejected Israel’s latest proposal along those lines.
He reiterated Hamas’ stance that it would return hostages only in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal and a lasting truce, as called for in the now-defunct ceasefire agreement reached in January.
Hamas currently holds 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
The airstrikes came a day after aid groups raised alarm over Israel’s blockade of Gaza, where it has barred entry of all food and other goods for more than six weeks.
The UN said thousands of children have become malnourished, and most people are barely eating one meal a day, as stocks dwindle.
Israel’s minister of defense said the blockade is one of the “central pressure tactics” against Hamas, who they said was siphoning off aid to maintain its rule.
Aid workers have denied that there is significant diversion of aid, saying the UN closely monitors distribution. Rights groups have called it a “starvation tactic.”
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