At least 18 members of same family ‘killed in Israeli airstrike as Gaza ceasefire talks continue

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An Israeli airstrike has killed at least 18 people from the same family in Gaza, including a number of young children, Associated Press has reported, while talks in pursuit of a ceasefire deal are about to resume.

The strike during the early hours of Saturday morning hit a house and an adjacent warehouse sheltering people at the entrance of the town of Zawaida, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.

One of those killed has been named as Sami Jawad al-Ejlah, who reportedly coordinated with the Israeli military to bring meat and fish into Gaza.

The dead also included his two wives, 11 of their children aged two to 22, the children’s grandmother and three other relatives, according to a fatality list provided by the hospital.

“He was a peaceful man,” said Abu Ahmed, a neighbour who was slightly wounded in the attack.

Also in the building at the time of the strike were more than 40 people taking shelter.

The Israeli military, which rarely comments on individual strikes, said it struck “terrorist infrastructure” in central Gaza where rockets had been fired toward Israel in recent weeks.

It comes as mediators from different nations expressed hope that a deal could be reached between Israel and Hamas, with details of how to implement the proposed arrangement to be decided in Cairo next week.

US president Joe Biden has indicated that he is now more optimistic about a ceasefire, after days of discussions involving the US, Egypt and Qatar.

“As of an hour ago, we’re still in play. I’m optimistic. It’s still far from over. Just a couple more issues, I think we’ve got a shot,” he told reporters on Friday.

The attack came days after the Hamas-run health ministry in the besieged enclave announced the death toll had surpassed 40,000 since the war started after the 7 October attacks inside Israel.

The mediation efforts are aimed not just at securing the release of more than 100 Israeli hostages who have been held inside Gaza since the Hamas atrocity, but also to stop the fighting that has devastated the region.

With basic sanitation and necessary supplies running low, aid and health workers fear a possible polio outbreak, with the virus detected in wastewater in six different locations last month.

It is hoped a ceasefire will also reduce the regional tensions that have threatened to explode into a broader war amid fears that Iran and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon will attack Israel in retaliation for the killings of senior commander Fuad Shukr and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.