Eurasia Press & News
Hamas fired two rockets at Tel Aviv today, the first time in several months, after Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least 19 Palestinians, ahead of the expected resumption of ceasefire negotiations on Thursday.
There are no reports of casualties in Israel.
The two rockets were launched from Gaza, according to the Israeli military. One fell into the sea, and the other did not reach Israeli territory. Hamas’ military wing stated, “We bombed the city of Tel Aviv and its suburbs with two M90 rockets in response to the Zionist massacres of civilians and the deliberate displacement of our people.” The last time Hamas acknowledged firing rockets at Tel Aviv was in May.
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES
Nineteen Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday in the central and southern parts of the Gaza Strip, according to medical personnel. Six people, including a mother and her four-day-old twins, were killed in an attack on Deir Al-Balah, while seven Palestinians died in a strike on a house in the nearby Al-Bureij refugee camp.
Four people were killed in two separate attacks on the Al-Maghazi camp in central Gaza and in Rafah in the south, and two others died in a strike on a house in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in northern Gaza City, according to medical sources.
The Israeli military announced that Islamic Jihad and Hamas are fighting in several areas of Gaza.
The Israeli military announced that it had killed Palestinian militants and dismantled military structures in Khan Yunis, located weapons and explosives in Rafah, and targeted rocket launchers and sniper positions in central Gaza.
CEASEFIRE NEGOTIATIONS
The U.S. stated on Monday that it expects the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip, scheduled for Thursday, to proceed as planned and that an agreement is still possible.
The American news outlet Axios reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to travel to Qatar, Egypt, and Israel for talks on Tuesday. The Israeli government announced that it would send a delegation to the negotiations on Thursday to finalize the details of the proposed agreement.
However, Hamas is demanding a viable plan for implementing the proposal put forward by U.S. President Joe Biden in May, rather than new negotiations.
A Hamas official told Reuters that CNN’s report about Hamas planning to participate in the Thursday negotiations was incorrect. “Our statement a few days ago was clear: implementation is needed, not more negotiations,” said the official, who wished to remain anonymous.
A ceasefire agreement would end the fighting in the Gaza Strip and facilitate the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
