Region
'Progress in talks to halt Gaza conflict'
Massacre toll 26,422, most of them women and children
January 28, 2024 | 11:00 PM
Israeli forces were engaged Sunday in "intensive battles" in southern Gaza, the army said, as CIA chief William Burns met with Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari officials for ceasefire talks in Paris.The Israeli army reported "intensive battles" in Gaza's main southern city of Khan Younis.The health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory said at least 24 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Khan Younis. Strikes were also carried out in central and northern Gaza, the army added.Meanwhile, Burns was in Paris for talks with top Egyptian, Israeli and Qatari officials, sources close to the participants said, after media reports suggested some progress in negotiations towards a halt to hostilities.More than three months of war have led to a spiralling humanitarian crisis and mass displacement within the Palestinian territory, with many Gazans driven south towards the Egyptian border.Israel's ensuing military offensive has killed at least 26,422 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.Medical facilities are at risk of collapse in Khan Younis, the southern Gaza city now at the focus of Israel's offensive, the Gaza Health Ministry warned yesterday.The armed wing of resistance movement Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters clashed with Israeli troops in several areas across the enclave overnight. Hamas' armed wing said its fighters destroyed two Israeli tanks in Khan Younis.
January 28, 2024 | 11:00 PM