Israeli strikes kill family of three in Gaza as ceasefire talks stall
An Israeli airstrike killed a man, his wife and their six-year-old daughter in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, Palestinian health officials said, as talks aimed at advancing a US-brokered ceasefire faltered.
The strike on an apartment building in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, killed Omar Abu Qassem, his wife Asma and their daughter Habeeba, medics said. Their son survived but was injured.
The Israeli military said the strike targeted a Hamas militant.
In Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, another Israeli airstrike killed one person, according to medics. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incident.
The latest deaths bring the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks since the October ceasefire took effect to more than 1,100, most of them civilians, according to Palestinian health officials. Hamas does not usually disclose the number of its fighters killed.
Although the ceasefire halted large-scale fighting, Israeli strikes have continued almost daily. Four Israeli soldiers have also been killed by militants in Gaza during the same period.
Ceasefire talks make little progress
The latest violence came as Hamas leaders concluded another round of ceasefire talks in Cairo on Tuesday.
The negotiations, mediated by Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, were aimed at implementing the second phase of US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan.
According to sources familiar with the talks, discussions covered the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, but made little progress because of deep mistrust between the two sides.
The proposed second phase also envisages a US-backed Palestinian technocratic committee replacing Hamas in governing Gaza, the deployment of an international security force and the start of reconstruction efforts.
Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania have pledged troops for the US-backed International Stabilisation Force, but none has yet been deployed as negotiations between Trump's Board of Peace and Hamas have remained deadlocked for months.
Speaking at an aid donors' meeting in Brussels on Monday, Board of Peace envoy for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov said he would travel to Morocco on Tuesday to sign the country's contribution to the International Stabilisation Force and expressed hope that troops would soon begin deployment.
Mladenov said the October ceasefire was holding, "but imperfectly", with violations continuing, and added that Hamas had yet to accept what he described as a roadmap for negotiations.
Hamas official Basem Naim accused Mladenov of backing Israel's position in the talks and failing to hold Israel accountable for alleged ceasefire violations and failure to implement the first phase of the Trump plan.
The plan called for Israeli forces to withdraw to a designated "yellow" line. However, Hamas says Israel has gradually advanced its troops and now effectively controls more than 60% of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has repeatedly insisted that negotiations on the second phase cannot proceed until Israel fulfils the commitments made under the first phase of the agreement.
Nearly all of Gaza's 2 million residents, many of whom have been displaced multiple times, are now living in a narrow coastal area, mostly in tents or damaged buildings.
The war began after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel during the 7 October 2023 attack, according to Israeli figures. Gaza's health ministry says Israel's subsequent military campaign has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians.