Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met families of Israeli hostages on Tuesday after criticizing Israel for prolonging the war the day before. Israeli negotiators go to Doha for peace talks on Wednesday, with Witkoff saying that it is optimistic that progress will be made, according to local media.
It is not clear if Trump, who will also be in Qatar on Wednesday, will meet directly or indirectly, or at all, with Israeli negotiators and Hamas.
Israeli defense forces, announcing the Tuesday Gaza attack, said that Hamas’ command and control center was located under the hospital. The Israeli media, citing military sources, reported that the strike was aimed at Mohammed Sinwar, brother of the former Hamas chief, Yahya Sinwar, who was killed last October.
Mohammed Sinwar became head of Hamas after the death of his brother, and CNN reported that his signature would be necessary to seal any potential cease-fire agreement. His name was not among the list of deaths published by the local authorities of the Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas.
The BBC reported that the bombing had killed 28 people, adding that an independent journalist he employed had been injured during the strike, as well as dozens of others.
Another journalist, Hassan Aslih, was killed in an Israeli strike separated in another Gaza hospital on Tuesday. Israel accused Aslih, who had hundreds of thousands of disciples on social networks of working with Hamas. He had recovered at Nasser hospital following a previous attempt to kill him, Reuters reported.
The committee to protect journalists says 138 journalists have been killed since the attacks of October 7, 2023 by Hamas. Most are Palestinians because Israel has prohibited the foreign media of the Gaza Strip.
The European hospital was built using European Union funds. It is one of the few hospitals that still operates in Gaza after more than 18 months of Israeli bombing.
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