At least 82 Palestinians, including 39 in Gaza City alone, have been killed in a fresh wave of Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip, as efforts to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas resumed in Qatar.
United States President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that a truce agreement could be reached “this week,” with indirect negotiations underway and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu en route to Washington for talks.
Residents of the heavily bombed Sheikh Radwan neighborhood described “apocalyptic” scenes as families dug through rubble searching for survivors. “We managed to pull out two people alive after hours of digging,” survivor Mahmoud al-Sheikh Salama told Al Jazeera. “The rest are still under the debris.”
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reported at least seven air strikes within two hours, with a community kitchen in Deir el-Balah also hit, killing three people, including its main operator.
Meanwhile, attacks near US- and Israel-backed aid distribution centers killed at least nine Palestinians on Sunday, with critics accusing Israeli forces and GHF contractors of firing on civilians. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reports 743 Palestinians killed at such sites since May. Two American contractors were also injured in a grenade attack, which the US blamed on Hamas—a claim Gaza officials deny.
Despite the violence, signs of progress emerged as Trump claimed a ceasefire and hostage deal could be finalized within days. “I think we’re close… We could have it this week,” he said, ahead of his scheduled meeting with Netanyahu on Monday.
However, analysts remain skeptical. “There is a very slim chance of a ceasefire,” said Professor Adnan Hayajneh of Qatar University, suggesting Netanyahu may seek to prolong the war for political survival amidst ongoing corruption trials in Israel.
Hamas has responded “positively” to a recent US-backed proposal, but the path to peace remains uncertain as Gaza reels from the latest surge in violence.
