Middle East latest: Children and parents among 8 killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza, officials say

Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed eight people, including two children aged 7 and 9 and their parents, Palestinian officials said Monday.

A third child, 10 years old, was wounded in an overnight strike on a tent where displaced people were sheltering in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to the Civil Defense, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government. An Associated Press reporter saw the children’s bodies at nearby Nasser Hospital.

A separate strike early Monday killed four people, including a woman and a child, in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The Israeli military blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing militants of hiding among civilians and fighting from residential areas. It rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 43,800 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They do not distinguish between militants and civilians but say most of those killed are women and children. The fighting has left some 76 people dead in Israel, including 31 soldiers.

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Lebanon will convey its positive response to a US cease-fire proposal, minister says

BEIRUT — A government minister close to Hezbollah says Lebanon will convey its “positive position” on a United States-backed cease-fire proposal this week.

The Biden administration is trying to halt the war between Israel and the militant group after months of sputtering cease-fire efforts.

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who is mediating for the militants, is expected to meet with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday.

Labor Minister Mostafa Bayram, who met with Berri on Monday, said Hezbollah’s function “is to make sure the (Israeli) aggression fails to achieve its goals, while negotiation is for the state and the government.”

A Western diplomat familiar with the talks told The Associated Press there is a sense of “cautious optimism.”

“Diplomatic efforts are converging towards a cease-fire, but it’s still in the hands and heads of key players to decide if it’s in their interest or not to stop things right now,” said the diplomat, who was not authorized to brief media and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

The efforts are aimed at reestablishing a U.N. buffer zone in southern Lebanon established after the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. Israel is said to be pushing for guarantees it can continue to act militarily against Hezbollah if needed, a demand the Lebanese are unlikely to accept.

— By Kareem Chehayeb

Turkey denies overflight permission for a plane carrying Israel’s president

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey has denied Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s plane the right to use its airspace, preventing him from traveling to Azerbaijan, the Turkish state-run news agency reported.

The Anadolu Agency report late Sunday said Israeli authorities requested permission for the plane to access the Turkish airspace on its way to Baku, Azerbaijan, where Herzog was scheduled to attend the COP29 conference on climate change.

The agency based its report on unnamed Turkish officials. It did not say when the permission was denied. Times of Israel reported that Herzog’s office on Saturday said the decision to cancel his trip to Baku was due to “security considerations.”

Turkey has emerged as one of the strongest critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Lebanon. It has suspended trade relations with Israel, accused the country of genocide and voiced support to Hamas.

Children and their parents among 8 killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza, officials say

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed eight people, including two children aged 7 and 9 and their parents, Palestinian officials said. A third child, 10 years old, was wounded in the same strike.

The Civil Defense, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, said Monday that the two children were killed in an overnight strike on a tent where displaced people were sheltering in the southern city of Khan Younis.

An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies at nearby Nasser Hospital. The two children were beheaded by the blast and their remains were placed in one body bag.

A separate strike early Monday killed four people, including a woman and a child, in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The Israeli military blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing militants of hiding among civilians and fighting from residential areas. It rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 43,800 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They do not distinguish between militants and civilians but say most of those killed are women and children.

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