Israeli air strike kills 18 family members in Gaza Strip just day after Biden says ceasefire deal is ‘closer than ever’

17 August 2024, 14:21

An Israeli air strike has reportedly killed at least 18 people from the same family in the Gaza Strip just a day after President Joe Biden said a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel is “closer than we’ve ever been”.

The attack came days after the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza announced the death toll surpassed 40,000 in the 10-month-old Israel-Hamas war.

It also follows talks between Israel, the US and Iran this week held in a bid to find a solution to the growing tensions across the Middle East.

Speaking on Friday, President Biden suggested a ceasefire agreement, which would likely include the return of all Israeli hostages captured on October 7, could be on the horizon.

However, just a day later, an Israeli air strike in Gaza early on Saturday morning hit a house and an adjacent warehouse that was sheltering displaced people.

The house was at the entrance of the town of Zawaida, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where casualties were taken.

Among those killed was a wholesaler identified as Sami Jawad al-Ejlah, who co-ordinated with the Israeli military to bring meat and fish to Gaza, according to the Associated Press.

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 death list provided by the hospital.

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

More than 40 civilians were sheltering in the house and warehouse at the time of the strike, he said.

The Israeli military, which rarely comments on individual strikes, said it was checking on the report. It said on Saturday that it was continuing attacks on militants in central Gaza, including one seen launching rockets at troops.

Speaking from the White House on Friday, Mr Biden warned an agreement was "not there yet."

"I don't want to jinx anything... we may have something," Mr Biden told reporters from the White House's Oval Office.

He added: "But we're not there yet.

"It's much, much closer than it was three days ago. So, keep your fingers crossed."

Sources close to the talks are “cautiously optimistic” a deal might be agreed in the coming days, Sky News reports.

On Friday, a joint statement by the US, Qatar and Egypt described talks as "serious and constructive and conducted in a positive atmosphere.

"Senior officials from our governments will reconvene in Cairo before the end of next week with the aim to conclude the deal under the terms put forward today," the statement continued.

Since the attack in late 2023, Israel has waged an assault on Gaza, killing over 40,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Earlier this week, US officials are believed to have told Israel that it cannot achieve anything more with its military campaign in Gaza.

Several US officials warned that Israel would never be able to eradicate Hamas completely, despite that being one of Benjamin Netanyahu's stated war aims.

The officials told the New York Times that the US believed a deal was the way to secure the release of the remaining hostages, rather than continued military action, in a war that has already killed 40,000, according to the Hamas-linked health ministry.

Read more: Hamas confirm they will not join ceasefire talks with Israel this week

Tom Swarbrick reacts: David Lammy will travel to Israel 'in attempt to prevent all out war in the Middle East'

But they added that Israel had managed to reduce Hamas' capabilities significantly more than they had expected.

A former top US military official said: "Israel has been able to disrupt Hamas, kill a number of their leaders and largely reduce the threat to Israel that existed before October 7".

In response, the IDF said that it was "committed to achieving the goals of the war to dismantle Hamas and bring home our hostages, and will continue to operate with determination to achieve them."