Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 16 as world awaits Hamas' response to peace plan

Israel pressed its offensive in Gaza on Wednesday with at least 16 Palestinians reported killed across the strip as the world awaited Hamas response to US President Donald Trumps peace plan for the embattled territoryThe dead included people who had sought refuge in a school sheltering the displaced in Gaza City AlFalah school in the citys eastern Zeitoun neighbourhood was hit twice minutes apart according to officials at AlAhli HospitalAmong the casualties were first responders they said Five Palestinians were killed later on Wednesday morning when a strike hit people gathered around a drinking water tank on the western side of Gaza City the same hospital saidAlso in Gaza City the Shifa Hospital said it received the body of a man killed in a strike on his apartment west of the cityIsraeli strikes also hit the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killing a husband and wife the AlAwda hospital said Another man was killed in a separate strike in the Bureij refugee camp according to the same hospitalA funeral was planned for Yahya Barzaq a journalist working for Turkish broadcast outlet TRT who was killed in a strike in Gaza on Tuesday according to the broadcasterThe Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the killed journalist or Wednesdays strikesIsraels campaign in Gaza has killed more than 66000 Palestinians and wounded nearly 170000 others according to Gazas Health Ministry The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its toll but has said women and children make up around half of the deadThe war was triggered by Hamas Oct 7 2023 attack on southern Israel in which militants killed some 1200 people and abducted 250 others Most of the hostages have been freed under previous ceasefire deals but 48 are estimated to be still held in Gaza 20 believed by Israel to be still aliveTrumps peace proposalOn Tuesday Qatar said that further talks were needed over details of Trumps proposal for ending the nearly twoyear war in Gaza Hamas said it would study the plan both within the group and with other Palestinian factions before respondingThe comments by Qatar a key mediator appeared to reflect Arab countries discontent over the text of the 20point plan that the White House put out after Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced they had agreed on it on MondayThe plan which has received wide international support requires Hamas to release hostages leave power in Gaza and disarm in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners and an end to fighting The plan guarantees the flow of humanitarian aid and promises reconstruction in Gaza placing it and its more than 2 million Palestinians under international governance However it sets no path to Palestinian statehoodThe Palestinian government in the occupied West Bank said earlier it welcomed the plan as did the governments of Egypt Jordan Indonesia Pakistan Turkey Qatar Saudi Arabia and the United Arab EmiratesMore roadblocks and a flotilla headed to GazaThe Israeli military said that starting at midday Wednesday it would only allow Palestinians to travel south along the only northsouth route still open in the coastal stripmeaning people fleeing the intensifying fighting in Gaza City can continue to head south but they could not go northWhile the military did not offer more details on the closure the road carries great symbolism for Palestinians Earlier this year when Israel opened access to the north Gazas most heavily destroyed area hundreds of thousands of Palestinians crowded it seeing their return as an act of steadfastness and defianceHundreds of thousands remain displaced across Gaza and finding food is a daily struggleA widely watched flotilla of activists carrying a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid is sailing toward Gaza in what organisers have described as the largest attempt to date to break Israels maritime blockade of the stripThe activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla of about 50 vessels say they expect Israeli authorities to intercept them as has happened in past flotilla attempts to reach Gaza On Wednesday they said two of the vessels were harassed by an Israeli warship overnight though it stopped short of intercepting themThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever