At least 36 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, local hospitals reported, as questions arose about US President Donald Trump’s peace plan that could potentially pause the nearly two-year war in Gaza.
Hamas announced it would review the proposal with its members and other Palestinian factions before reaching a decision. Comments by Qatar, a key mediator, appeared to reflect Arab countries’ discontent over the text of the 20-point plan released by the White House after Mr. Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced their agreement on it Monday.
Three Arab officials told The Associated Press that changes had been made to the original proposal—changes that Arab and Muslim countries had worked out with Mr. Trump—in favor of Israel. The officials, who represented regional powers involved in the talks, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes diplomacy.
The depth of the Arab countries’ discontent was not clear, and they have continued to express broad support for the plan. However, Qatar’s comments indicated they might seek further negotiation over some of its terms, even as Mr. Trump told reporters Tuesday that Hamas has three or four days to respond.
Arab mediators and Turkish officials are scheduled to meet with Hamas representatives on Tuesday in Doha to discuss the plan, said Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari.
While the proposal offers an end to the fighting in Gaza, guarantees the flow of humanitarian aid, and promises reconstruction, the Palestinian militant group would have to disarm. Meanwhile, Gaza—and its more than two million Palestinians—would be put under international control for the foreseeable future.
Mr. Netanyahu supports the plan, and several Arab leaders have applauded it. However, many Palestinians in the war-torn coastal enclave remain wary of the proposal. They want to impose their own peace, Umm Mohammed, a history teacher who sheltered with her family in Gaza City, told the Associated Press.
“In fact, this is not a peace plan. It’s a surrender plan. It returns us to times of colonialism,” she said.
Meanwhile, Israelis visiting a memorial for the music festival where 364 people were killed during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, expressed skepticism that the proposal may pause the war. Amit Zander, whose daughter, Noa Zander, was killed at the festival, noted that Mr. Trump was the only one with enough power to make a deal happen.
“Everyone pins their hopes on [Trump]. It’s up to Hamas. Israel wants it, and beyond that, it’s no longer in our hands,” he said.
On Tuesday morning, at least 36 Palestinians were killed, according to local hospitals. In Netzarim, the Israeli-controlled corridor that bisects northern and southern Gaza, 17 Palestinians were killed and 33 wounded while attempting to access humanitarian aid, al-Awda hospital reported.
Separately, at least two Israeli strikes on tents in the Muwasi region—previously deemed a safe zone by the Israeli military—killed 10 people. Seven of those killed had fled Gaza City earlier this month to escape Israel’s widening offensive; they died near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Al Aqsa hospital said.
The three others were members of the same family—a man, his seven-month pregnant wife, and their child—who were killed when an airstrike hit their tent west of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the shootings or airstrikes but stated that its troops had killed several armed militants and struck more than 160 Hamas targets in the past 24 hours, including weapons storage facilities and observation posts.
Hamas is believed to be holding 48 hostages, 20 of whom Israel believes are still alive. The militant group has previously demanded that Israel agree to end the war and withdraw from all of Gaza as part of any permanent ceasefire.
Gaza’s health ministry said in its daily report that the death toll has surpassed 66,000, with almost 170,000 wounded since the war began. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run administration, does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its figures but has stated that women and children make up around half of the dead.
Its figures are regarded as a reliable estimate by the United Nations and many independent experts.
Israel accuses Hamas of hiding its military infrastructure in civilian areas. Israel’s offensive has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displacing about 90% of the population amid a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with experts warning that Gaza City is experiencing famine.
An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed a freelance journalist working for Turkish broadcaster TRT. Yahya Barzaq was killed in the besieged Palestinian enclave on Tuesday, the broadcaster said on its Instagram account.
https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/at-least-36-palestinians-killed-as-hamas-ponders-trump-peace-plan-1812990.html