Gaza airstrikes, gunfire kill at least 38 as Israel defies ceasefire calls amid mounting global pressure

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 38 people across Gaza health officials said as international pressure grows for a ceasefire but Israels leader remains defiant about continuing the warStrikes in central and northern Gaza killed people in their homes in the early hours of Saturday morning including nine from the same family in a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp according to health staff at the AlAwda hospital where the bodies were broughtThe attacks came hours after a defiant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told fellow world leaders at the UN General Assembly Friday that his nation must finish the job against Hamas in GazaNetanyahus words aimed as much at his increasingly divided domestic audience as the global one began after dozens of delegates from multiple nations walked out of the UN General Assembly hall en masse Friday morning as he began speakingInternational pressure on Israel to end the war is increasing as is Israels isolation with a growing list of countries deciding recently to recognize Palestinian statehood something Israel rejectsCountries have been lobbying US President Donald Trump to press Israel for a ceasefire On Friday Trump told reporters on the White House lawn that he believes the US is close to achieving a deal on easing fighting in Gaza that will get the hostages back and end the warTrump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet Monday and Trump said on social media Friday that very inspired and productive discussions and ntense negotiations about Gaza are ongoing with countries in the regionYet Israel is pressing ahead with another major ground operation in Gaza City which experts say is experiencing famine More than 300000 people have fled but up to 700000 are still there many because they cant afford to relocateThe strikes Saturday morning demolished a house in Gaza Citys Tufah neighborhood killing at least 11 people more than half of them women and children according to the AlAhly Hospital where the bodies were brought Four other people were killed when an airstrike hit their homes in the Shati refugee camp according to Shifa hospitalSix other Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire while seeking aid in southern and central Gaza according to Nasser and Al Awda hospitals where the bodies were broughtIsraels army did not immediately respond about the airstrikes or the gunfireHospitals and health clinics in Gaza City are on the brink of collapse Nearly two weeks into the offensive two clinics have been destroyed by airstrikes two hospitals shut down after being damaged and others are barely functioning with medicine equipment food and fuel in short supplyMany patients and staff have been forced to flee hospitals leaving behind only a few doctors and nurses to tend to children in incubators or other patients too ill to moveOn Friday aid group Doctors Without Borders said it was forced to suspend activities in Gaza City amid an intensified Israeli offensive The group said Israeli tanks were less than half a mile from its health care facilities and the escalating attacks have created an unacceptable level of risk for its staffMeanwhile the food situation in the north has also worsened as Israel has halted aid deliveries through its crossing into northern Gaza since September 12 and has increasingly rejected UN requests to bring supplies from southern Gaza into the north the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs saidIsraels campaign in Gaza has killed more than 65000 people and wounded more than 167000 others according to the Gaza Health Ministry It doesnt distinguish between civilians and combatants but says women and children make up around half the fatalities The ministry is part of the Hamasrun government but UN agencies and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualtiesIsraels campaign was triggered when Hamasled militants stormed into Israel on October 7 2023 killing around 1200 people and taking 251 hostage Fortyeight captives remain in Gaza around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive after most of the rest were freed in ceasefires or other dealsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever