Abdel Rahman Mohamed Jumaa : “Jerusalem shooting attack: Casualties reported”

Accident – Death – Obituary News :

Israel Launches Air Strikes on Southern Gaza’s Rafah

Israel launched air strikes Thursday on southern Gaza’s Rafah after threatening to send troops into the city, where around 1.4 million Palestinians have sought shelter from around the territory. Global powers trying to navigate a way to end the Israel-Hamas war have so far come up short, but a US envoy was expected in Israel on Thursday to try to secure a truce deal.

High Civilian Death Toll and Dire Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

International concern has spiraled over the high civilian death toll and dire humanitarian crisis in the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack against Israel. More than four months of relentless fighting and air strikes have flattened much of the Hamas-run coastal territory, pushing its population of around 2.4 million to the brink of famine, according to the UN.

Rafah: A City Under Siege

International concern has in recent weeks centered on Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where more than 1.4 million people forced to flee their homes elsewhere in the territory are now living in crowded shelters and makeshift tents. The last city untouched by Israeli ground troops, Rafah also serves as the main entry point via neighboring Egypt for desperately needed relief supplies.

Israel’s Ultimatum to Hamas

Israel has warned it will expand its ground operations into Rafah if Hamas does not free the remaining hostages held in Gaza by next month’s start of the Muslim holy month Ramadan. The war started when Hamas launched its attack on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

Tragic Losses and Devastation in Rafah

Abdel Rahman Mohamed Jumaa said he lost his family in recent strikes on Rafah. “I found my wife lying in the street,” he said. “Then I saw a man carrying a girl and I ran toward him and…. picked her up, realizing she was really my daughter.” He was holding a small shrouded corpse in his arms. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said early Thursday that 99 people had been killed around Gaza during the night, most of them women, children, and elderly people.

International Efforts to Secure a Truce

Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, was expected to arrive in Israel Thursday to advance a hostage deal and broker a truce. Hamas’s chief Ismail Haniyeh was in Cairo for talks as well, according to the group. Israel’s Gantz said there were efforts to “promote a new plan for the return of the hostages.”

US Involvement in Negotiations

Matthew Miller, US State Department spokesman, said Washington was hoping for an “agreement that secures a temporary ceasefire where we can get the hostages out and get humanitarian assistance,” but declined to give details on ongoing negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted the army will keep fighting until it has destroyed Hamas and freed the remaining hostages..