Israeli air strike kills 18 members of a family in Gaza

As mediators express optimism for an imminent ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, violence has raged in the Gaza Strip, where an Israeli air strike has killed at least 18 people, all from the same family.

The attack came days after the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza announced the death toll surpassed 40,000 in the 10-month-old war, and hours after officials from the United States, Egypt and Qatar ended two days of ceasefire talks with a message of hope that a deal could be reached.

A joint statement from the mediators said a proposal to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas was presented and they expected to work out the details of how to implement the possible deal next week in Cairo.

The mediation efforts are aimed not just at securing the release of scores of Israeli hostages and stopping the fighting that has devastated Gaza, where aid and health workers fear a possible polio outbreak.

They are also aimed at calming regional tensions that have threatened to explode into a broader war if Iran and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon attack Israel in retaliation for the recent killings of top militant leaders.

Thousands of people in Israel took to the streets demonstrating in favour of a hostage deal.

At a rally, the mother of a hostage held by the militant Palestinian organization Hamas called on the leadership of the Israeli security apparatus to prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from torpedoing a deal, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

“Even if this is not a perfect deal, it is the only deal there is,” at a rally the father of one of the hostages was quoted as saying.

Protests took place in the coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, in Haifa and many other places around the country.

Saturday’s air strike in Gaza hit a house and adjacent warehouse sheltering displaced people at the entrance to Zawaida town, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where casualties were taken.

An Associated Press reporter there counted the dead.

Among those killed was Sami Jawad al-Ejlah, a wholesaler who coordinated with the Israeli military to bring meat and fish to Gaza.

The dead also included his two wives, 11 of their children ages 2 to 22, the children’s grandmother and three other relatives, according to a list provided by the hospital.

“He was a peaceful man,” said Abu Ahmed, a neighbour who was slightly wounded.

More than 40 civilians were sheltering in the house and warehouse at the time, he said.

The Israeli military, which rarely comments on individual strikes, said it struck “terrorist infrastructure” in central Gaza where rockets had been fired toward Israel in recent weeks.

It said it was continuing attacks on militants in central Gaza.

Meanwhile, another mass evacuation was ordered for parts of central Gaza.

In a post on X, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Palestinians in areas in and around the urban Maghazi refugee camp should leave.

He said Israeli forces will operate in them in response to Palestinian rocket fire.

The vast majority of Gaza’s population has been displaced by the fighting, often multiple times, and around 84 per cent of the territory has been placed under evacuation orders by the Israeli military, according to the United Nations.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border on October 7, killing about 1200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 250 to Gaza.

More than 100 were released in a November ceasefire.

About 110 are believed to be in Gaza, though Israeli authorities believe around a third are dead.

Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 Hamas militants, without providing evidence.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday at least 40,074 Palestinians have been killed in the war.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken planned to travel to Israel over the weekend and was expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

with DPA