Daijiworld Media Network – Gaza
Gaza, Jul 1: Israeli warplanes and tanks carried out intense strikes across northern and southern Gaza on Tuesday, demolishing clusters of homes and forcing thousands more Palestinians to flee, even as diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire resumed in Washington.
Local sources said Israeli tanks pushed deep into eastern Gaza City and southern areas including Khan Younis and Rafah, while residents were issued fresh evacuation orders. Gaza’s health authorities reported at least 20 people killed, with heavy destruction in Gaza City's Shejaia and Zeitoun districts, and in parts of Khan Younis and Rafah.
“We don’t sleep because of the sounds of explosions from tanks and planes,” said Ismail, a resident of Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan suburb. “The occupation is destroying homes east of Gaza, in Jabalia and other places around us,” he said in a text message, requesting anonymity for security reasons.
Amid the escalating violence, Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, arrived in Washington to hold high-level talks with US officials, including members of President Donald Trump’s team. According to Israeli sources, Dermer is expected to explore regional diplomatic arrangements following last month’s brief war with Iran and to seek pathways to end the Gaza conflict.
Netanyahu himself is scheduled to visit Washington next week and meet with Trump on July 7. The discussions are likely to centre on Iran, Gaza, Syria, and broader regional security challenges.
Hamas, meanwhile, reiterated its position that any deal for releasing the remaining hostages held in Gaza must include a full end to the war. “We call upon the US administration to atone for its sin towards Gaza by declaring an end to the war,” said senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri, adding that pressure from the US is crucial to reviving stalled ceasefire negotiations.
Mediators Egypt and Qatar have intensified efforts behind the scenes, though no date has been fixed for the next round of formal talks, Palestinian and Egyptian sources said.
The ongoing war, now in its ninth month, erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise assault into Israel, killing 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and capturing 251 hostages.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has since killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, displacing nearly the entire 2.3 million population and deepening a dire humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave.