Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza as new ceasefire talks begin

An Israeli military strike killed 12 people in a house in Gaza City early on Saturday, bringing the death toll from strikes across Gaza to 65 over the last day, Palestinian medics said, as mediators launched a new ceasefire push in Qatar.

Residents and medics said at least 14 people had been in the house of the Al-Ghoula family when the strike took place in the early hours, destroying the building.

People scoured the rubble for possible survivors trapped under the debris and medics said several children were among those killed. A few flames and trails of smoke continued to rise from burning furniture in the ruins hours after the attack.

"At about 2 a.m. we were woken up by the sound of a huge explosion," said Ahmed Ayyan, a neighbour of the Al-Ghoula family, adding that 14 or 15 people had been staying in the house.

"Most of them are women and children, they are all civilians, there is no one there who shot missiles, or is from the resistance," Ayyan told Reuters.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the incident.

The military said in a statement on Saturday that its forces had continued their operations this week in Beit Hanoun town in the northern edge of the enclave, where the army has been operating for three months, and had destroyed a military complex that had been used by Hamas.

In Jabalia in the north, an Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinians, medics said. Earlier in the day, another Israeli airstrike killed three people in a car east of the central town of Deir Al-Balah, they said.

Saturday's deaths brought the toll to 65 since Friday, health officials said.

Palestinians gather around a car hit in an Israeli strike in the central Gaza Strip on January 3, 2025. Reuters

Israel's military campaign has leveled swathes of Gaza, driving most people from their homes, and has killed 45,717 Palestinians.

Israel maintains its campaign, launched after the October 7 Hamas attack that killed approximately 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, aims to eradicate Hamas.

Ceasefire push

As violence surged, Israeli mediators traveled to Qatar for ceasefire talks brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States.

The push for a ceasefire comes ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Mediators hope to finalize an agreement to halt the 15-month conflict and facilitate the return of Israeli hostages.

The ongoing violence has devastated Gaza, displacing most of its population and destroying large parts of the enclave.