Dozens killed in southern Gaza airstrikes as ceasefire preparations advance

CAIRO – At least three dozen Palestinians have been killed in multiple Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip, officials said Saturday, even as preparations for high-level ceasefire talks advanced in the Egyptian capital.

Among the dead were 11 members of a family, including two children, when an Israeli airstrike hit their home in the town of Khan Younis early Saturday, according to Nasser Hospital where the bodies and wounded were taken.

The hospital received a total of 33 dead, killed in three separate strikes in and around Khan Younis. The city's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said it received three more bodies following a strike early Saturday.

Seventeen others were killed in a strike on a road south of Khan Younis, including passengers in a tuk-tuk and passers-by, Nasser Hospital said. Another strike hit a tuk-tuk east of Khan Younis, killing at least five people.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports but had no immediate comment.

First responders also found 10 bodies in a residential block west of Khan Younis, six in the Hamad City neighborhood of Khan Younis and two further south in Rafah. The circumstances of their deaths were not immediately clear, the hospital said, but the areas have been repeatedly shelled by the Israeli army over the past week.

An Associated Press reporter at the hospital counted the bodies and filmed the funeral ceremony in the hospital courtyard.

The war in Gaza erupted on October 7 when Hamas and other militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. More than 100 hostages were freed in a ceasefire last year, but Hamas is believed to still be holding about 110 others, about a third of whom are dead, according to Israeli officials.

The Israeli retaliatory offensive has left more than 40,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its count. The ministry said Saturday that a total of 69 dead and 212 wounded had been taken to hospitals in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.

The conflict has also caused massive destruction and forced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people to flee their homes.

Experts met Saturday to work on technical issues and pave the way for high-level talks Sunday on a possible cease-fire brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Saturday to meet with Egyptian and Qatari officials, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawy told the AP. He stressed that Hamas would not participate directly in Sunday's talks, but would be briefed by Egypt and Qatar.

An Israeli delegation arriving Thursday included David Barnea, the head of Israel's foreign intelligence service Mossad, the head of Israel's Shin Bet security service, and Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano.

CIA Director William Burns and Brett McGurk, President Joe Biden's senior Middle East adviser, are leading the U.S. side of the negotiations amid major differences between Israel and Hamas over Israel's insistence on maintaining forces in two strategic corridors in Gaza.

The White House said Friday that the discussions had been constructive and that progress had been made, without providing specific details.

The United States has pushed for a proposal to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas, as pressure mounts for a ceasefire and fears of a broader regional war grow following recent targeted killings of leaders of the Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups, both blamed on Israel.

Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to stress the urgency of reaching a ceasefire and a deal to release the hostages, and discussed developments with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt on Friday.

A major impasse has been the Philadelphia Corridor, along the Gaza-Egypt border, and the east-west Netzarim Corridor, which runs through the territory.

Hamas is demanding a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, while Netanyahu has insisted that Israel must retain control of the corridors.

Hamas political official Bassem Naim said last week that the working proposal at the time adopted Netanyahu's demands, including that Israeli forces remain in control of the Philadelphia and Netzarim corridors.

Ahead of Sunday's talks, Merdawy said Hamas's position had not changed from accepting an earlier plan that would include the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

_____ Rising was reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writer Wafaa Shurfa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war