Israel bombs Lebanon’s Tyre as Gaza death toll tops 43,000
Mediators and Hamas to assess feasibility of talks and to further efforts to promote deal
Dubai: Israeli forces on Monday launched deadly strikes on ancient Lebanese city of Tyre, and Gaza, as the death toll in the besieged territory surpassed 43,000.
The fresh airstrikes in Lebanon resulted in at least 11 deaths and 27 injuries and destruction of several apartment buildings.
The Israeli army had earlier told residents in parts of central Tyre to leave immediately, warning it would attack Hezbollah targets there.
The Lebanese health ministry described the death toll as “provisional” as rescue workers were racing to pull more survivors from the pancaked buildings. Hezbollah, meanwhile, launched more than 100 projectiles into Israel, including a barrage of advanced rockets aimed at a naval base near Haifa.
In Gaza, the death toll hit 43,020 since the war began over a year ago, with an additional 96 casualties reported in the last 48 hours. Also on Monday, Mossad chief David Barnea returned from a 24-hour trip to Qatar, where he discussed proposals for a hostage deal.
Barnea, along with CIA chief Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, met to discuss “a new unified proposal that combines previous proposals and also takes into account the main issues and recent developments in the region,” reports said. “In the coming days, discussions will continue between the mediators and Hamas to assess the feasibility of talks and to further efforts to promote a deal.”
After months of failed mediation efforts to stop the war, Egypt’s Abdul Fattah Al Sissi proposed a two-day pause in Gaza and a limited hostage and prisoner exchange, aimed at eventually securing an elusive “complete ceasefire” between Hamas and Israel.
The proposal includes exchanging four Israeli hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and would be followed by more negotiations within 10 days, Al Sissi said.