GAZA (AFP) - Gaza City's Shujaiya district was devastated by a fourth consecutive day of heavy fighting on Sunday. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled the devastated area as Israeli forces reported they had eliminated several targets, located weapons and conducted raids on booby-trapped compounds. Heavy battles and bombardment hit Gaza City's Shujaiya district for a fourth day on Sunday, months after the Israeli army declared Hamas's command structure dismantled in the northern area. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled the devastated neighbourhood, where the army said it has fought Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants both "above and below ground" in tunnels. The military said troops had "eliminated several terrorists, located weapons and conducted targeted raids on booby-trapped combat compounds" over the past 24 hours while the air force had "struck dozens" of the militants' infrastructure sites. It also reported clashes in central Gaza and the southern Rafah area, a week after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the "intense phase" of the war raging since October 7 was nearing an end. The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA estimated that "60,000 to 80,000 people were displaced" from Shujaiya since new fighting broke out there on Thursday and the army issued evacuation orders. Months of on-and-off talks towards a Gaza truce and hostage release deal have meanwhile made little progress, with Hamas saying Saturday there was "nothing new" in a revised plan presented by US mediators. United States President Joe Biden late last month outlined what he called an Israeli plan for a six-week truce and exchange of some hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Washington last week presented "new language" for parts of the proposed deal, according to US news site Axios. A Hamas official in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, confirmed that the Islamist movement had received the latest proposal but said it presented "no real progress in the negotiations to stop the aggression". Hamdan labelled the proposals "a waste of time" that aimed to give "additional time for the occupation (Israel) to practise genocide". 'EVERYTHING IS RUBBLE' The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza although the army says 42 are dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,877 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Six more people were killed in an air strike at dawn targeting a family house in Rafah, said medics at Nasser Hospital where the bodies were taken. Artillery shelling also struck southern areas of Rafah city, witnesses said. United Nations and other relief agencies have voiced alarm over the dire humanitarian crisis and threat of starvation the war and Israeli siege have brought for Gaza's 2.4 million people. "It's really unbearable," said Louise Wateridge from UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, speaking Friday after returning to the city of Khan Yunis. "Everything is rubble," she said. "And yet people are living there again... There's no water there, there's no sanitation, there's no food. And now, people are living back in these buildings that are empty shells." Former hostage Noa Argamani, 26, who was rescued in a special forces raid on June 8, said in a video address that "we can't forget about the hostages who are still in Hamas captivity, and we must do everything possible to bring them back home". 'AN OBLITERATING WAR' The Gaza conflict has also led to soaring tensions on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, where the army has traded cross-border fire with the Hezbollah movement since October. Hezbollah is part of the "axis of resistance" of Iran-backed armed groups against Israel and its Western allies. The grouping also includes militants in Iraq and Yemen's Huthi rebels. Israel's military said this month that its plans for a Lebanon offensive had been "approved and validated", prompting Hezbollah to respond that no part of Israel would be spared in a full-blown conflict. Iran's mission to the UN, on social media Saturday, said it "deems as psychological warfare the Zionist regime's propaganda about intending to attack Lebanon". It also warned its arch foe that, "should it embark on full-scale military aggression, an obliterating war will ensue". "All options, incl. the full involvement of all Resistance Fronts, are on the table." Iran, which backs Hamas, has praised the October 7 attack as a success but has denied any involvement.
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Israeli Forces Carry Out Worst Aggression in Gaza, 107 Palestinians Martyred in 24 Hours

By DTD-

Financial Aid Bill for Israel Rejected in US House of Representatives.

According to private TV reports, Israeli forces have crossed all boundaries of aggression and brutality, martyring an additional 20 Palestinians by raining bombs on homes in Jabalia.

In Khan Yunis, rockets were also fired at the Al-Hanawi School where displaced Palestinians were sheltering, resulting in the deaths of 14 Palestinians, including children and women. Additionally, in Rafah, six Palestinians were martyred in Israeli attacks.

During the span of 24 hours, the Zionist forces have martyred 107 Palestinians, bringing the total number of martyrs to 27,600.

Hamas has responded to the Gaza siege and kidnappings by accepting the approved proposals of Qatar and Egypt for ceasefire and release.

On the other hand, a financial aid bill for Israel was rejected in the US House of Representatives. The bill received 70 votes in favor and 180 against, with 166 Democrats and 14 Republicans joining forces to reject it. A two-thirds majority was required for the bill to be passed.

It should be noted that Israel was supposed to receive $17.6 billion through this legislation.

Gaza mediators search for ‘final formula’ for Israel & Hamas ceasefire

US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators prepared a diplomatic push to bridge differences between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire plan for Gaza after the Palestinian group responded to a proposal for an extended pause in fighting and hostage releases.

Hamas on Tuesday replied to a framework drawn up more than a week ago by US and Israeli spy chiefs at a meeting in Paris with the Egyptians and Qataris.

Details of the response were not disclosed. In a statement Hamas said on Tuesday it responded “in a positive spirit, ensuring a comprehensive and complete ceasefire, ending the aggression against our people, ensuring relief, shelter, and reconstruction, lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip, and achieving a prisoner swap.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a lightning tour of the Middle East, said he would discuss the Hamas response with Israeli officials when he visits the country on Wednesday.

In Doha, Blinken said, “There’s still a lot of work to do… but we continue to believe that an agreement is possible, and indeed essential.”

Qatar described the Hamas response as “positive” overall while Egyptian security sources told Reuters that Hamas showed flexibility.

“We will discuss all the details of the proposed framework with the concerned parties to reach an agreement on the final formula as soon as possible,” Diaa Rashwan, head of Egypt’s State Information Service, was quoted as saying.

Sources close to the talks have said the truce would last at least 40 days, during which the militants would free civilians among the remaining hostages they hold.

Further phases would follow, to hand over soldiers and dead bodies of hostages, in exchange for releases of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. The truce would also increase the flow of food and other aid to Gaza’s desperate civilians who are facing hunger and dire shortages of basic supplies.

US President Joe Biden said the Hamas response showed “some movement” toward a deal. But it was unclear if either Hamas or Israel were willing to soften their stated hardline positions in order to reach a truce agreement.

A Hamas official who asked not to be identified reiterated to Reuters earlier on Tuesday that the Palestinian movement would not allow any hostage releases without guarantees that the war would end and Israeli forces leave Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Israel will not end its Gaza campaign until Hamas is wiped out and has ruled out the creation of a Palestinian state.

More From Daily The Destination: Israel Launches Airstrikes on Key Gaza City Amidst Military Setbacks

Saudi Arabia has told the US its position stands that there will be no diplomatic relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is recognised on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem, and Israeli “aggression” in Gaza stops, the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia put US-backed plans to normalise ties with Israel on ice, sources familiar with Riyadh’s thinking told Reuters in Oct, 2023, as the war between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israeli forces escalated.

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