Gaza war: Aid workers report more than 50 deaths, despite calls for ceasefire

The swift end to the 12-day war between Israel and Iran has revived hopes of an end to the fighting in Gaza, which is also devastated by a humanitarian catastrophe for its roughly two million inhabitants.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House on July 7 , a US official told AFP on condition of anonymity, as Washington steps up pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza.

US President Donald Trump recently urged Israel to "make a deal in Gaza." But on the ground, Israel continues its offensive aimed at destroying the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. According to the Gaza Civil Defense, a single Israeli airstrike killed 24 people and injured dozens on Monday at a beachfront establishment in Gaza City called "Al-Baqa."

"There are always a lot of people at this place, which offers drinks, spaces for families and internet access," Ahmed Al-Nayrab, 26, told AFP. He was on a nearby beach with friends when he heard a "huge explosion."

"It was a massacre," he continued. "I saw body parts flying everywhere, mutilated and burned corpses. A blood-curdling scene. Everyone was screaming. The wounded were yelling for help, families were mourning their dead." The Hamas government's press office in Gaza reported that a photojournalist, Ismail Abu Hatab, was killed in the attack.

Earlier in the day, the Civil Defense announced the deaths of 27 people in several strikes and shootings by the Israeli army. Among them, 11 were "killed near aid distribution points in the center and south of the territory," Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for the relief organization, told AFP.

Given media restrictions in the Gaza Strip and the difficulties of accessing the ground, AFP is unable to independently verify the Civil Defense's reports and claims. When asked by AFP about the information provided by Mr. Bassal, the Israeli army did not respond.

In a statement, Hamas denounced the "major intensification" of Israeli airstrikes, which it said targeted "defenseless civilians." Calls for a ceasefire in Gaza have continued since the June 24 truce in the 12-day war between Israel and Iran.

"The State of Israel no longer has any interest in continuing the war in Gaza; it only causes damage on the security, political and economic levels," said opposition leader Yair Lapid, asserting that the army shared his view.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry, a key country in the latest indirect talks between Hamas and Israel, reaffirmed that "the conditions are right to move forward and resume negotiations." "We are now facing the completion of the Gaza campaign and the achievement of its objectives, foremost among them the release of all hostages and the defeat of Hamas ," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the army's general staff.

While Donald Trump assured on Friday that a ceasefire was "near" in Gaza, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer is in Washington this week for talks with American officials. Washington announced on Monday the sale of bomb guidance kits to Israel for $510 million.

The war was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The attack killed 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data. Forty-nine people kidnapped that day remain hostages in Gaza, 27 of whom have been declared dead by the Israeli military.