Five Gaza journalists killed in Israeli attack

A Palestinian television channel says five of its journalists were killed in an Israeli attack in the central Gaza Strip.

They were in a Quds Today van parked outside Al Awda hospital, where the wife of one of the journalists was about to give birth, in the central Nuseirat refugee camp.

The station posted video of what it said was the vehicle on fire with “press” signs on the rear doors.

The Israeli Air Force said it had attacked “selectively and with intelligence guidance” a vehicle with members of the armed group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) inside. He added that measures had been taken to minimize civilian casualties.

The BBC has not been able to verify the claims from both sides.

Quds Today is affiliated with the Islamic Jihad group that participated in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The unprecedented attack triggered the war in Gaza.

In another development, five people were reported killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza City on Wednesday.

The Palestinian Wafa news agency and the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry also said another 20 people were injured in the city’s al-Zeitoun neighborhood.

The Israeli military has not commented on the reported bombing.

Also on Wednesday, Hamas and Israel blamed each other for delays in the latest attempt to reach a ceasefire.

Hamas accused the Israeli government of imposing “new conditions” that it said were delaying the deal.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the group was reneging on agreements that had already been reached on a possible ceasefire.

The latest statements mark a notable change in tone on both sides.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office said Israeli representatives had returned from Qatar, which is mediating, after “significant negotiations,” and previous Palestinian negotiators told the BBC that talks were 90% complete, barring a few issues. .

The Israeli military launched airstrikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip in response to last year’s Hamas attack. Some 1,200 people were killed in the attack and another 251 were returned to Gaza as hostages.

More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, Gaza’s Health Ministry says. According to the UN, almost two million people (90% of the population) have been displaced.

Additional reporting by Jaroslav Lukiv.