Israel’s war on Gaza live: 71 Palestinians killed as truce talks resume
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- Israeli forces killed at least 71 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, as tanks and bulldozers advanced on the central city of Deir el-Balah, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee over two days.
- Hamas sent a delegation, led by senior official Khalil al-Hayya, to Egypt as mediated talks to end Israel’s war on Gaza resumed in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
- In Israel, thousands protesters again took to the streets, rallying against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and calling for a ceasefire deal to secure the release of captives held in Gaza.
- At least 40,334 people have been killed and 93,356 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7.
What is the Philadelphi Corridor?
We have been reporting that a major obstacle to a potential ceasefire deal is Israel’s demand to retain security control over the Philadelphi Corridor.
Here are some fast facts about the area:
- The Philadelphi Corridor, also known as the Philadelphi Route, is a 14km (8.7-mile) long strip of land that represents the entirety of the border area between Gaza and Egypt.
- In May, Israel captured the Rafah border crossing and took control of the corridor. It said it destroyed dozens of tunnels beneath the corridor that were being used to smuggle weapons to armed groups in Gaza.
- Hamas insists that Israeli troops must withdraw from the corridor, while Netanyahu insists that Israeli troops must remain to preserve Israeli security and derail the smuggling of weapons to Hamas.
Clashes as Israeli forces raid Balata refugee camp in the occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have stormed the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, arresting a young man there after raiding his home, Al Jazeera Arabic’s correspondent reports.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said it responded by firing a heavy barrage of bullets at Israeli soldiers during the raid, Al Jazeera Arabic reports.
We’ll bring you more soon.
Smoke rises from improvised explosives thrown by Palestinians at Israeli military vehicles following a deadly raid in the Balata refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on June 3.
No sign of breakthrough in Cairo: Report
The Reuters news agency is reporting that negotiators discussed new compromise proposals in Cairo on Saturday but that there was no indication of progress after hours of talks.
One Palestinian official close to the mediation effort told Reuters that “talks in Cairo didn’t make any progress” as “Israel is insisting on keeping eight positions” along the so-called Philadelphi Corridor or the border area between Egypt and Gaza.
The agency, citing a US official, also said the US delegation met with Egypt, then with Egypt and Qatar on Saturday, and believed that representatives from Egypt and Qatar were meeting with Hamas.
Earlier, the Associated Press news agency also reported that the US delegation held talks with Egypt and Qatar’s teams and that the latter were expected to speak with Hamas later on.
The Palestinian official told Reuters that the Hamas delegation has returned to Doha, Qatar, after the briefing on the latest round of talks ended.
Al Jazeera could not immediately confirm the reports.
Photos: Police detain Israeli protesters in West Jerusalem
