Gaza rescuers said at least 80 people were killed in Israeli bombardment across the Palestinian territory on Wednesday, as the IDF intensified their massive invasion of the conflict-stricken Palestinian territories. Civil defence official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said 80 people had been killed by Israeli bombardment since dawn, including 59 in the north. 

Footage from the aftermath of a strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza, showed mounds of rubble and twisted metal from collapsed buildings. Palestinians, including young children, picked through the debris in search of belongings. Footage of mourners in northern Gaza showed women in tears as they kneeled next to bodies wrapped in bloodstained white shrouds. “It’s a nine-month-old baby. What did he do?” one of them cried out. 

Hasan Moqbel, a Palestinian who lost relatives, said: “There are no homes fit for living. I have no shelter, no food, no water. Those who don’t die from air strikes die from hunger, and those who don’t die from hunger die from lack of medicine.”  Israel’s military on Wednesday warned residents in part of a Gaza City neighbourhood to evacuate, asserting that its forces would “attack the area with intense force”.  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday spoke to US envoy Steve Witkoff about the release of prisoner held in Gaza. Negotiations for the release of the captives held in Gaza have been ongoing, with the latest talks taking place in the Qatari capital Doha, where US President Donald Trump was visiting on Wednesday. 

Netanyahu’s office said the premier had discussed with Witkoff and his negotiating team the issue of the prisoners and the missing. Witkoff later said Trump had “a really productive conversation” with the Qatari emir about a Gaza deal, adding that “we are moving along and we have a good plan together”.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)