Israeli attacks kill 46 in Gaza as ceasefire talks continue

At slightest 46 Palestinians person been killed successful Israeli attacks crossed Gaza, arsenic planetary mediators continued talks aimed astatine securing a truce and captives-for-prisoners exchange.

Medical sources provided Al Jazeera with Wednesday’s decease toll successful Gaza arsenic Israeli forces besides conducted respective raids crossed the occupied West Bank, sidesplitting 3 people.

At slightest 45,936 radical person been killed successful Gaza, according to Palestinian officials, with different 109,274 wounded since Israel began its warfare successful the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 onslaught by Hamas fighters connected confederate Israel. That onslaught killed astatine slightest 1,139 people, according to an Al Jazeera tally based connected Israeli statistics, and astir 250 others were taken captive.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said the bulk of Israeli attacks connected Wednesday were concentrated successful the northbound of the Gaza Strip, peculiarly astir Gaza City.

An Israeli onslaught connected a Gaza City parkland killed 5 radical and an onslaught connected a schoolhouse sheltering displaced radical successful Jabalia killed four, helium said. In cardinal Gaza, astatine slightest 10 radical were killed successful a onslaught connected a household location successful the Bureij exile camp, including women and children, survivors said.

“There has been an intensification of aerial strikes since the aboriginal hours of this morning,” Abu Azzoum said, adding that Israeli attacks besides injured 4 telecommunications employees who were moving successful maintaining net landlines successful Gaza City.

“What we saw successful the past fewer hours is precise devastating situation, particularly successful Gaza City, which has been the epicentre of subject attacks, particularly successful densely populated areas,” helium said.

Hospitals retired of service

Rawya Taboura, a caregiver astatine the Indonesian Hospital successful Beit Lahiya, bluish Gaza, told Al Jazeera the wellness installation is taxable to nonstop Israeli shelling “targeting the infirmary walls and its surroundings” and preventing assistance deliveries.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said earlier this week that each 3 large hospitals successful Gaza’s northbound stay retired of work owed to the fighting, with the manager of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, Abu Safia, remaining detained by Israeli forces.

“Unfortunately, truthful far, nary 1 has been capable to supply assistance owed to the trouble of the concern extracurricular the infirmary and the trouble of coordinating with the applicable parties,”  Taboura said.

“We person not been capable to supply assistance to the hospital,” she added. “The concern successful the infirmary is precise dire.”

Further south, Nasser Hospital successful Khan Younis announced it would unopen down operations astatine 5pm (15:00 GMT) connected Wednesday owed to a deficiency of fuel, with the Al-Aqsa Hospital successful cardinal Deir el-Balah reporting it was retired of basal medicine and supplies.

On Wednesday, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was among the planetary assistance groups calling for unhindered entree to Gaza. Aid groups person repeatedly accused Israel of stifling assistance access.

The IFRC said that dire wintertime upwind conditions were “exacerbating the unbearable conditions” successful Gaza, with galore families near “clinging connected to endurance successful makeshift camps, without adjacent the astir basal necessities, specified arsenic blankets”.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), meanwhile, reported that astatine slightest 74 children had been killed successful Gaza successful the archetypal week of 2025, “suffering from attacks, deprivation, and expanding vulnerability to the cold”.

The fig included 8 infants and newborns who person died from hypothermia successful caller days.

More than a cardinal children are among Gaza’s displaced, with galore surviving successful makeshift tents with small extortion from the elements, the bureau said.

‘Heinous crimes’

As the warring rages successful Gaza, Israeli raids person continued crossed the occupied West Bank.

On Wednesday, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) said 45 Palestinians person been arrested since Tuesday nighttime crossed the governorates of Hebron, Nablus, Tubas, Tulkarem, Ramallah, and Jerusalem.

In Bethlehem, respective teachers and students suffered injuries aft inhaling teardrop state that Israeli soldiers launched astatine the Kisan School eastbound of Bethlehem, the authoritative Palestinian quality bureau Wafa reported.

The teardrop state was reportedly a effect to immoderate students throwing stones astatine Israeli subject vehicles.

Meanwhile, 3 Palestinians, including 2 children, were killed by an Israeli aerial onslaught connected the municipality of Tammun connected Wednesday successful Tubas governorate.

The killed children were identified arsenic nine-year-old Rida Bisharat and 10-year-old Hamza Bisharat by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry. It described the onslaught arsenic a “heinous crime”.

The ministry further said Israel’s “application of its assertive policies successful the West Bank” was “in flagrant usurpation of planetary instrumentality and the Geneva Conventions”.

Ceasefire talks continuing

As the warring continued, mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and the United States were pushing guardant with efforts to broker an statement betwixt Israel and Hamas that would spot a ceasefire and speech of Israeli captives held successful Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held successful Israeli jails. 

Speaking from Paris, France connected Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken maintained that an statement was “very close”.

However, past efforts to unafraid a hint person repeatedly failed, with some Hamas and Israel accusing each different of changing the terms.

Washington has besides been criticised for not imposing much leverage connected its “ironclad” state Israel, to which it provides billions of dollars successful subject aid.

Meanwhile, US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy appointee, Steve Witkoff, connected Tuesday said helium would question to Doha, Qatar to articulation the negotiations. He expressed anticipation that an statement would beryllium reached earlier Trump takes bureau connected January 20.

For his part, speaking astatine a quality league connected Tuesday, Trump told reporters that “all hellhole volition interruption out” if a woody is not reached by the clip helium takes office. He declined to specify what that means, oregon if it could spell accrued US engagement successful the conflict.

Later connected Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the bodies of 2 captives, Youssef and Hamza Ziyadne, had been recovered successful Gaza.