Tel Aviv/Cairo, July 4 (Reuters) – At least 15 Palestinians were killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, local health officials say. US President Donald Trump said he hopes Hamas will answer the “final proposal” of the next 24-hour ceasefire in Gaza.
Health officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Eunice, southern Gaza, said Israeli forces were bombing at a tent camp west of the city around 2am, killing 15 Palestinians who had been evacuated in the war for nearly two years.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Later on Friday, Palestinians gathered to pray for funerals before burying those killed overnight.
“A ceasefire came and you lost your brother? There must have been a ceasefire long ago before he lost his brother,” said Mayal Al-Far, 13, who cried. Her brother, Mahmoud, was among those killed.
Trump previously said it is probably known in 24 hours whether Hamas has accepted a ceasefire between Palestinian extremist groups and Israel.
On Tuesday, the president announced that Israel has accepted the conditions necessary to complete a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas.
Hamas previously declared that he agreed to agree to the deal for the enduring purpose of the war, but said it was studying the proposal, but that no official indication was given as to whether it would accept or reject it.
“Trade”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet commented on Trump’s ceasefire announcement. Some members of his right-wing coalition are against the deal, while others have shown their support.
Netanyahu repeatedly says Hamas must be disarmed. This is a position that extremist groups have refused to discuss.
In Tel Aviv, family members and hostage friends held in Gaza were among the protesters gathered outside the US embassy building on the US Independence Day, calling for Trump to secure deals with all prisoners of war.
The protesters set up the iconic Shabbat dinner table and 50 empty chairs to represent those still being held in Gaza. The banner hangs nearby and says Trump, “Make a deal in Gaza. Get hostages back!!!”
Sabbaths, or shabbats observed from the Friday evening to Saturday daytime, are often marked by Jewish families at traditional Friday night dinners.
“Only you can get a contract. We want one beautiful deal. One beautiful hostage deal,” said Gideon Rosenberg, 48, of Tel Aviv.
Rosenberg was wearing a shirt with the image of Abynatan hostage. One of his employees was lured into Palestinian extremists from the Nova Musical Festival on October 7, 2023.
Ruby Chen, 55, and 19-year-old Itai’s father of America and Israel, 1tai, are believed to have been killed after being taken prisoner, urging Netanyahu to return from a meeting with Trump in Washington in a deal that brings all hostages.
“This US Independence Day marks the beginning of lasting peace… that ensures the sacred value of human life and that gives dignity to hostages who have died by ensuring a return to proper burial,” he said.
Itai Chen, a German citizen, also served as an Israeli soldier when Hamas launched a surprising attack on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 more hostages.
Israel’s retaliation war with Hamas devastated Gaza. Gaza has been dominated by extremist groups for almost two decades, but now it is partially dominated, drove the majority of its population to over two million, causing widespread hunger.
More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in nearly two years of fighting, most of whom are civilians, according to local health officials.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell of Tel Aviv, Nidal Al Mugravi of Cairo, and Hatem Khaled of Gaza, edited by Alex Richardson)
