Preparations for ceasefire talks progress: Dozens killed in attacks in southern Gaza

CAIRO (AP) – At least three dozen Palestinians were killed in several Israeli attacks in the southern Gaza Strip, officials said Saturday, as preparations for High-level ceasefire talks in the Egyptian capital.

Eleven members of the same family, including two children, were among those killed when their house in the town of Khan Younis was hit by an Israeli airstrike early Saturday, according to Nasser Hospital, where the bodies and injured were taken.

The hospital received a total of 33 bodies killed in three separate attacks in and around Khan Younis. The city's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital said it had received three more bodies from an attack early Saturday.

Seventeen other people were killed when an attack hit a road south of Khan Younis, including the passengers of a tuk-tuk and passersby, Nasser Hospital said. Another attack hit a tuk-tuk east of Khan Younis, killing at least five people.

The Israeli military said it was investigating the reports but could not immediately comment.

Rescue workers also recovered 10 bodies from a residential block west of Khan Younis, six from 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 bombed by the Israeli military over the past week.

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

The war in Gaza broke out on October 7, when Hamas and other militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Over 100 hostages were released under a ceasefire last year, but Israeli authorities estimate that Hamas still holds around 110 hostages, about a third of whom are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinianssaid the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its count. The ministry announced on Saturday that a total of 69 dead and 212 injured had been admitted to hospitals across the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours.

The conflict has also caused widespread destruction and forced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to flee their homes.

Experts met On Saturday, technical issues are to be clarified and the way is to be paved for high-level talks on Sunday on a possible ceasefire mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

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

An Israeli delegation that arrived on Thursday included David Barnea, the head of Israel's foreign intelligence service Mossad, the head of Israel's security service Shin Bet and Major General Eliezer Toledano.

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

The White House said on Friday that the talks had been constructive and progress had been made, but did not provide specific details.

The US is pushing for a bridge to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas as pressure for a ceasefire mounts and Fear of a larger regional war is growing following the recent targeted killings of leaders of the militant Hamas and Hezbollah groups, for which Israel blames.

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

A major dead end was the Philadelphia Corridor along the border between Gaza and Egypt and the Netzarim East-West Corridor through the area.

Hamas demands a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, while Netanyahu insists that Israel must maintain control of the corridors.

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

Ahead of Sunday's talks, Merdawy said Hamas's position had not changed from an earlier draft that called for the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

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

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