Israeli strikes kill dozens of Palestinians in Gaza

Deir Al-Balah, December 28

Israeli forces bombarded cities, towns and refugee camps across Gaza overnight and into Thursday, killing dozens of people in an air and ground offensive against Hamas that has widened to most of the territory and forced thousands more to flee from homes and shelters.

New prisoner exchange deal on cards?

• Israel has proposed a new prisoner exchange deal to mediator Qatar, media reports said on Thursday. The deal will reportedly first see Israel withdraw its troops from densely populated areas of the Gaza and allow far more aid to enter the enclave.
• “In the second phase, Hamas would release female Israeli captives as Israel retreats further into areas to be hashed out via Qatari and US mediation,” the media reports said.

An Israeli airstrike on a home in the northern town of Beit Lahiyeh — one of the first targets of the ground invasion that began in October — buried at least 21 people, including women and children, according to a family member.

Bassel Kheir al-Din, a journalist with a local TV station, said the strike flattened his family house and severely damaged three neighboring homes. He said 12 members of his family — including three children — were buried and presumed dead, and that nine neighbours were missing. In central Gaza, Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the built-up Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps, leveling buildings, residents said. “It was another night of killing and massacres,” said Saeed Moustafa, a resident of the Nuseirat camp. — AP