Report: 15 Palestinians killed by IDF fire in Gaza
Medical officials say four gunmen killed in south Gaza, three more killed during IAF strike in Gaza City; at around 5:30 am three Palestinians, including two civilians, killed during exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and gunmen
Sources in Gaza said 10 Palestinians were killed overnight Thursday in three separate incidents, including two Israel Air Force (IAF) strikes. Three of the Palestinians were killed in exchanges of fire with Israeli soldiers. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit confirmed that aircraft attacked in Gaza.
Palestinian medical sources said four gunmen were killed overnight in south Gaza and three others were killed shortly thereafter during an aerial strike in Gaza City. At around 5:30 am it was reported that three Palestinians, including two civilians, were killed during exchanges of fire between IDF forces and gunmen.
At around 8:30 am Palestinian sources in Gaza reported that 5 people were killed in an IDF strike near the northern town of Beit Lahiya.
It is unclear at this time whether the incident was an aerial assault or a ground strike.
On Wednesday evening the Palestinians reported that 11 people were killed in a series of IDF assaults throughout the Strip: four people were killed as they were travelling near Rafah, three more were killed during an attack in Khan Younis and a 13-year-old boy was killed in southwest Gaza. Two more Palestinians were killed in an aerial strike near the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza, and another person was killed during an attack in Tel al-Hawa.
Gaza Health Ministry officials said the Israeli offensive has killed at least 1,028 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, including 300 children and teenagers. More than 4,500 Palestinians have been wounded, they said.
Meanwhile, a senior Jerusalem official told Ynet Wednesday night Israel will give the Egyptian-brokered negotiations on a Gaza ceasefire a chance, but is keeping other options open as well, hinting that the military operation in the Strip could still expand further.
"The military move in Gaza continues in full strength with strikes from the air, sea and ground, in a bid to further wear out Hamas," he explained. "The decision on whether to declare a truce or expand the operation in Gaza will likely be made by Friday," he added.
France and Germany signaled Wednesday their support for the Egyptian efforts to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
"Important progress has been made over the past days in identifying workable solutions," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement released in Paris.
Despite previous reports saying Hamas is willing to accept Egypt's proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, the group's representative Salah Bardawil said at a press conference in Cairo Wednesday that the group still had reservations regarding the initiative.
"We will try to achieve our objectives in any way possible, in order to end the aggression, lift the siege and open the crossings," he stated.
"The Egyptian proposal is the only plan that has been presented to us," said Bardawil. "We have presented our vision and hope it will materialize."
Ali Waked and Roee Nahmias contributed to the report
