Cairo (Reuters)-Israeli military attacks killed at least 70 Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, local health officials said at an intensification of bombing as US President Donald Trump visits the Middle East.
Doctors said most victims, including women and children, were killed in a series of Israeli air strikes that targeted houses in the Jabalia area in northern Gaza.
“Some victims are still on the road and under the rubble, where rescue and emergency teams cannot arrive,” a statement from the Ministry of Health said.
The Israeli Armed Forces did not comments immediately. They said they were trying to check the reports.
According to Israeli press reports on Wednesday, security officials said they believed that Hamas’s military leader Mohammad Sinwar, and other high-ranking officers were killed in an attack on Tuesday to what Israeli military described as a command and control bunker under the European hospital in the city of Khan Youis in southern Gaza.
There was no confirmation by the Israeli military or Hamas. On Wednesday, witnesses and doctors said an Israeli air strike reached an excavator approaching the attacking region in the European hospital, injuring several people.
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At the end of Tuesday, Jihad Islamic, a militant group supported by Iran and Ally to Hamas, fired Gaza rockets towards Israel. Shortly before Israeli retaliation attacks, the Israeli military issued withdrawal orders to residents in the Jabalia area and near Beit Lahiya.
Trump visit
Palestinians expect Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates to exert pressure to reduce violence. On Monday, Hamas released Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage known in his power.
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Trump said in Riyadh on Tuesday that more hostages would follow Alexander and that the people of Gaza deserved a better future. He will not visit Israel during his trip to the Middle East.
The efforts to ceasefire failed, with Hamas and Israel exchanging guilty. Hamas spoke with the United States and mediators of Egypt and Qatar to get Alexander’s release, and Israel sent a team to Doha to start a new round of negotiations.
On Tuesday, Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler, met with hostage families in Tel Aviv and said they now saw a greater chance of a hostage release agreement after the agreement on Alexander.
