Bombay Durpun - Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 28

More than 14 months into the Israel-Hamas war, there was no let-up in the violence in the Gaza Strip even as Palestinian groups involved in the fighting said a ceasefire deal was "closer than ever".

Israel has faced growing criticism of its actions during the war, triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, including from rights groups accusing it of "acts of genocide" which the Israeli government strongly denies.

Pope Francis on Saturday condemned deadly bombardment a day earlier that killed several children as "cruelty", prompting a sharp response from Israel which accused the pontiff of double standards.

On the ground in Gaza, civil agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that at least 13 people were killed in an air strike on a house in central Gaza's Deir el-Balah belonging to the Abu Samra family.

Hours after the strike, an AFP photographer saw residents searching through the debris for survivors, while others looked for belongings they could salvage.

In a nearby compound, bodies covered in blankets were laid on the floor.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has confirmed a separate strike further north, on a school in Gaza City.

Bassal said that eight people including four children were killed in the attack on the school, which had been repurposed as a shelter for Palestinians displaced by the war.

The Israeli military said it had carried out a "precise strike" overnight targeting Hamas militants operating there.

- Ceasefire talks -

A military statement said that a Hamas "command and control centre... was embedded inside" the school compound in the city's east, adding that it was used "to plan and execute terrorist attacks" against Israeli forces.

AFP impages showed the damaged school building where mangled concrete slabs and iron beams lay strewn amid patches of blood.

Contacted by AFP, an Israeli military spokesperson said they were unable to comment on other reported strikes elsewhere in Gaza.

Bassal said in a statement that an overnight strike killed three people in Rafah, in the south.

And a drone strike early on Sunday hit a car in Gaza City, killing four people, the spokesman added.

Hamas and two other Palestinian armed groups said on Saturday in a rare joint statement that an agreement to end the bloodshed was "closer than ever".

The groups, which include Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that a truce in Gaza and hostage release deal may be within reach, provided Israel does not impose new conditions in negotiations.

Negotiations have faced multiple challenges since a one-week truce in November 2023, with the primary point of contention being the establishment of a lasting ceasefire.

Israeli leaders have repeatedly stated they oppose a full military withdrawal from Gaza. Another unresolved issue is the territory's post-war governance.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, were held last week in Doha, rekindling hope of a potential breakthrough after months of stalling.

- 'Cruelty' -

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was "hopeful" for a deal, but avoided making any predictions as to when it would materialise.

The unprecedented Hamas attack last year that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also took 251 hostages, of whom 96 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 45,227 people, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

The dead include seven children from one family, killed in a bombing on Friday that sparked a strong reaction from Pope Francis.

He said that "children were bombed. This is cruelty, this is not war."

The pope added that he felt compelled to speak out "because it touches my heart".

The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out the attack on northern Gaza, but said it targeted a Hamas "military structure" and questioned the death toll provided by civil defence rescuers.

An Israeli foreign ministry spokesman hit back at the pontiff's comments, saying they were "particularly disappointing" and showed "double standards", singling out Israel for criticism.

The remarks were "disconnected from the true and factual context of Israel's fight against jihadist terrorism", the spokesman said.

F.Mahajan--BD