81 Palestinians killed in Gaza in Israeli strikes as Trump claims truce ‘within days’

At least 81 people have been killed and more than 400 injured in Israeli strikes across Gaza over the past 24 hours, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Among the dead are at least 11 people, including children, who were killed near a stadium in Gaza City that was sheltering displaced families in tents.

In another incident, a strike on a tent in the al-Mawasi area killed three children and their parents while they slept, relatives told the Associated Press.

Further attacks on Saturday afternoon in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood killed at least eight people, including five children, at a school sheltering hundreds of displaced Gazans.

Witnesses described frantic efforts to rescue victims buried under rubble, with civilians and emergency crews digging through sand and debris by hand. “We didn’t do anything to them, why do they harm us? Did we harm them? We are civilians,” one witness told Reuters.

The latest round of violence comes as US President Donald Trump has said a ceasefire could be agreed “within the next week.” Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said, “We’re working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of.”

Qatari mediators have expressed hope that US pressure could help secure a deal, building on momentum from the recent truce between Israel and Iran.

An official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Israel’s Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, will arrive in Washington next week for talks on Gaza’s ceasefire, Iran, and other subjects. Negotiations have been on and off since Israel broke the previous ceasefire in March, continuing its military campaign and deepening Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.

Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, fewer than half believed to still be alive. They are part of the 250 hostages taken during Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the ongoing 21-month war.

More than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Over half of the dead are reported to be women and children.

There is hope among hostage families that Mr Trump’s involvement in securing the recent ceasefire between Israel and Iran might increase pressure for a deal in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, buoyed by public support for his handling of the Iran conflict, may have more room to move toward ending the war in Gaza, though his far-right coalition partners remain opposed.

Hamas has repeatedly said it is prepared to free all hostages in exchange for an end to the war, while Netanyahu insists he will only end the war when Hamas is disarmed and exiled—a condition the group rejects.

Palestinians have been shot and wounded while trying to access food at aid sites run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to reports from health officials and witnesses. Israel’s military says it is investigating incidents in which civilians were harmed while approaching these sites.

- with AP