GAZA STRIP: Israel kept up its air strikes on Gaza Wednesday (Jul 17) after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to ramp up the pressure on Hamas as hopes faded for a US-announced ceasefire plan.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh accused Israel of deliberately undermining negotiations for a truce and hostage release deal because it did not want to end the war.
The Israeli military said it had carried out 25 strikes in 24 hours, targeting "military structures, terrorist infrastructure, terrorist cells and rigged structures".
Netanyahu, who has repeatedly vowed to eradicate Hamas, insisted Tuesday that despite mounting pressure, there would be no let-up in Israel's campaign against the militants.
"This is exactly the time to increase the pressure even more, to bring home all the hostages - the living and the dead - and to achieve all the war objectives," he said.
He rammed home the point in a speech to parliament, saying, "We have got them by the throat; we are on the road to absolute victory".
The health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said 52 people, most of them women and children, had been killed in Israeli strikes over the previous 24 hours.
Washington has been pushing for a truce deal between Israel and Hamas since President Joe Biden released details of what he said was an Israeli ceasefire roadmap on May 31.
But despite the efforts of Egyptian and Qatari mediators, indirect negotiations between the foes have made no headway.
In a telephone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan late Tuesday, the Hamas leader blamed Israel for the deadlock.
"We dealt positively with the proposals put to us by the mediators but the occupation is avoiding the required outcome and does not want to reach an agreement under which it ends its war," Haniyeh said.
His comments came after a senior Hamas official said Sunday that the group was withdrawing from the current talks following Israel's deadly strikes but was ready to return if its attitude changes.
The main crossing point for aid, Rafah, which connects Gaza with Egypt, has been closed for months since Israel sent ground troops into the city.
The WHO also said that out of the territory's 36 hospitals, only 15 were partially functioning and that there had been more than a thousand attacks against health facilities in Gaza since October.
Critics in Israel, including tens of thousands of demonstrators who have taken to the streets to demand a deal to bring home the hostages, have accused Netanyahu of prolonging the war.
The families of five Israeli women soldiers among the hostages said Tuesday they were "begging" the prime minister to "make the deal happen".
"We are waiting for a face-to-face meeting with you (Netanyahu) to ensure that the negotiations are moving towards a signed deal," said Ayelet Levy, whose daughter was abducted on Oct 7.
