Jerusalem (AP) – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio It arrived in Israel on Sunday as Israel intensified its attack on northern Gaza, flattening another skyscraper and killing at least 12 Palestinians.
Rubio said before his trip He wants answers Israeli officials have stepped back efforts to mediate the end of the conflict on how they see the path in Gaza following last week’s Israeli attack on Qatar Hamas operatives.
His two-day visit is also a show of support for an increasingly isolated Israel as the United Nations retains what is expected to be controversial Discussions on commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is strongly opposed to the perception of the Palestinian state.
Attack on Qatar
Despite President Donald Trump’s rage at Netanyahu, Rubio’s visit went ahead Israel’s strike against Hamas leaders In Doha, he said that the US had not been notified in advance.
On Friday, Rubio and Trump met with Qatar’s prime minister to discuss fallout from Israeli operations. A double-sequential meeting between Israel and Qatar shows how the Trump administration is trying to do Relationships among major Middle Eastern allies Despite widespread international condemnation of the attack.
Doha also appears to have ended its attempt to secure a ceasefire in Israel Hamas and hostage release. The Gaza War is expected to be a major focus ahead of the UN General Assembly session.
Fatal Airstrike Mount
At least 13 Palestinians were killed on Sunday, and dozens were injured in multiple Israeli attacks across Gaza, according to a local hospital.
The local hospital said the Israeli strike targeted vehicles near Shifa Hospital and a roundabout in Gaza city, as well as a tent in Deial Bala, which killed at least six members of the same family.
According to Al-Aqsa Hospital, two parents, three children and the child’s aunt were killed on the strike. The family came from the town north of Beit Hanong and arrived in Deia Al Bala last week after fleeing a shelter in Gaza city.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike.
As part of an expansion operation in Gaza City, Israeli forces destroyed high-rise residential buildings on Sunday morning. This is within an hour of an evacuation order posted online by military spokesman Avichay Adraee.
Residents said the Couser Tower along the river had been flattened to the ground. There were no immediate reports of victims.
“This part of the genocide measures the (Israel) occupation taking place in Gaza,” said Abed Ismail, a resident of Gaza. “They want to turn the entire city into tile rubs and force a transfer and another Nakba.”
words Nakba is Arabic for catastrophe And it refers to when around 700,000 Palestinians were expelled by Israeli forces, or when they fled their homes in modern Israel before the war in 1948 and during the war in 1948.
Israel strongly denies accusations of Gaza’s genocide.
Gaza’s Hunger
Separately, two Palestinian adults have died of causes related to malnutrition and starvation in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the territorial health ministry reported on Sunday.
This brings the death toll from malnutrition-related causes to 277 since late June, when the province began counting deaths among this age category.
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, luring 251 people and killing around 1,200, mostly civilians. There are still 48 hostages left in Gaza, and 20 of them believe they are still alive.
Israeli retaliatory attacks have killed at least 64,803 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Approximately half of those killed were women and children. Most of the metropolitan cities have been completely destroyed, with about 90% of the roughly 2 million Palestinians being displaced. ___
Magiddy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Melanie Ridman in Tel Aviv, Israel contributed to the report.
