US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he believed that “great progress” was being made to bring an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“I think great progress is being made on Gaza, I think because of this attack that we made,” said Trump, suggesting the US strikes on Iran could have a positive impact on the Middle East.
Meanwhile a senior Hamas official told AFP Wednesday that talks for a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group “intensified in recent hours” with mediator countries.
“Our communications with the brother mediators in Egypt and Qatar have not stopped and have intensified in recent hours,” Taher al-Nunu said, adding that the group had “not yet received any new proposals” to bring an end to the war now in its 21st month.
Earlier on Wednesday, Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed at least 20 people, including six who were waiting to collect food aid in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
The latest in a string of deadly incidents near aid distribution sites came after the United Nations had condemned the “weaponization of food” in the Gaza Strip, where a US- and Israeli-backed foundation has largely replaced established humanitarian organizations.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that six people were killed and 30 others wounded “following Israeli fire targeting thousands of civilians waiting for aid” in an area of central Gaza where Palestinians have gathered each night in the hope of collecting food rations.
Bassal said the crowd was hit by Israeli “bullets and tank shells.”
