Israeli airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza on the eve of high-level cease-fire talks in Egypt

CAIRO (AP) — Israeli airstrikes killed at least three dozen Palestinians in southern Gaza, health workers said Saturday, as officials including a Hamas delegation gathered for high-level cease-fire talks in neighboring Egypt.

Eleven members of a family, including two children, were among the dead after an airstrike hit their home in Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which received a total of 33 bodies from three strikes in and around the city that also hit tuk-tuks and passersby. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said it received three bodies from another strike.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.

First responders also recovered 16 bodies from the Hamad City area of Khan Younis after a partial pullout of Israeli forces, 10 bodies from a residential building west of Khan Younis and two farther south in Rafah. The circumstances of their deaths weren’t immediately clear, but the areas were repeatedly bombed by the Israeli military over the past week. An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies.

Some residents returned to Hamad City, crunching on rubble as they walked between destroyed apartment buildings. One multistory building’s entire wall was gone, its rooms framing residents picking through debris.

“There is nothing, no apartment, no furniture, no homes, only destruction,” Neveen Kheder said. “We are dying slowly. You know what, if they gave a mercy bullet, it would be better than what is happening to us.”

The war in Gaza began when Hamas and other militants staged a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people, primarily civilians. Hamas is believed to still be holding around 110 hostages. Israeli authorities estimate about a third are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry said Saturday a total of 69 dead and 212 wounded had been brought to hospitals across Gaza over the past 24 hours.

Israel’s military announced the deaths of four more soldiers in combat in central Gaza on Friday.

The conflict has caused widespread destruction and forced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to flee their homes, with many cramming into shrinking “humanitarian zones.”

In Egypt, the U.S. delegation led by CIA Director William Burns and White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk held talks with senior Egyptian officials and then with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, according to a person familiar with the ongoing talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to comment publicly.

The Egyptian and Qatari negotiators were expected to meet with Hamas officials on Saturday evening. Hamas won’t take part directly in Sunday’s talks but will be briefed by Egypt and Qatar, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Merdawy told the AP. Merdawy said Hamas’ position hadn’t changed from accepting an earlier draft that would include the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

An Israeli delegation that arrived Thursday included the heads of the Mossad foreign intelligence service and Shin Bet security service and Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano.

The U.S. has been pushing a proposal that aims at closing the gaps between Israel and Hamas as fears grow over a wider regional war after the recent killings of leaders of the militant Hamas and Hezbollah groups, both blamed on Israel.

The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr., was visiting Egypt, Jordan and Israel over the next few days to “stress the importance of deterring further escalation of hostilities,” a statement said.

U.S. President Joe Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to stress the urgency of reaching a deal and discussed developments with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt on Friday.

Major differences remain between Israel and Hamas over Israel’s insistence that it maintain forces in two strategic corridors in Gaza. Netanyahu wants Israeli control of the Philadelphi corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt and the Netzarim east-west corridor across the territory to prevent smuggling and catch militants.

In the latest protest in Tel Aviv, some Israelis again expressed anger with Netanyahu as they pressed for a deal to bring hostages home.

“Remove him from his position and appoint a person who is able to return them,” said Ayala Metzger, daughter-in-law of Yoram Metzger, whose body was recovered in Gaza last week.

___ David Rising reported from Bangkok. Wafaa Shurfa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Aamer Madhani in Buellton, California, contributed to this report.

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