US and Arab mediators are working around the clock to hammer out a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, sources close to the talks said, while in the Gaza Strip medics said Israeli strikes had killed 44 Palestinians. The mediators, at talks in Egypt and Qatar, are trying to forge a deal to pause the 14-month-old war in the Hamas-ruled enclave that would include a release of hostages seized from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, along with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Mediators had managed to narrow some gaps on previous sticking points but differences remained, the sources said. In Gaza, medics said at least 13 Palestinians were killed overnight in separate Israeli airstrikes, including on two houses in Gaza City and a central camp.

Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed nine people near Beach refugee camp in Gaza City, while another killed four others at a housing project near Beit Lahiya in the north. There was no Israeli comment. Later on Thursday, airstrikes killed at least 15 Palestinians in two shelters housing displaced families in eastern Gaza City's suburb of Tuffah, medics said. Another Israeli airstrike killed at least three people after targeting a residential house in the Sabra suburb of Gaza City, medics said, bringing Thursday's death toll to 44. The Israeli military said it struck Hamas militants operating in command and control complexes in areas that were previously used as the Al-Karama and Sha'ban Schools in Tuffah.

It said Hamas used the complexes to plan and execute attacks against its forces. Residents of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, where the army has operated since October, said forces blew up clusters of houses overnight. "The longer those talks last, the more destruction and death takes place in Gaza. Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya are being wiped out, Rafah too," said Adel, 60, a resident of Jabalia, who is now displaced in Gaza City. A report published by Medecins San Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) on Thursday said there were clear signs of ethnic cleansing in Israel's offensive as Palestinians were forcibly displaced and bombed.

"The signs of ethnic cleansing and the ongoing devastation —including mass killings, severe physical and mental health injuries, forced displacement, and impossible conditions of life for Palestinians under siege and bombardment — are undeniable," the aid group's head Christopher Lockyear said in the report. "Palestinians have been killed in their homes and in hospital beds... People cannot find even the most basic necessities like food, clean water, medicines, and soap amid a punishing siege and blockade," MSF said. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the MSF report but Israel has previously denied carrying out ethnic cleansing and says its campaign aims to wipe out Hamas and prevent it from regrouping.

Israel accuses the militant group of exploiting civilian infrastructure and the population as a human shield. Hamas denies this. Sources close to the mediation efforts said Hamas had pushed for a one-package deal but Israel wanted a phased one. Talks are focused on a first-phase release of hostages, dead or alive, as well as a number of Palestinians jailed by Israel. On Tuesday, the sides discussed the numbers and categories of those to be released, but things have yet to be finalized, said a source who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the talks.

The source said one issue was Israel's demand to retain the right to act against any possible military threat from Gaza and the stationing of Israeli forces during phases of the deal. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday Israel will have security control over Gaza with full freedom of action after defeating Hamas. Israel started its air and ground assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are alive.

Israel's campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the 2.3 million population and reduced much of the coastal enclave to ruins. On Thursday, Human Rights Watch said Israel had killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza by denying them clean water which it says legally amounts to acts of genocide and extermination. Israel's foreign ministry accused the rights group of lying, saying Israel had facilitated the continuous flow of water and humanitarian aid into Gaza since the start of the war despite constant attacks by Hamas.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)