GAZA CITY — The Israeli army has killed 118 Palestinians in air and artillery strikes across the Gaza Strip over the past four days, defying US President Donald Trump’s call to halt the bombardment, the Gaza Government Media Office said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the office said Israeli forces “continue their aggression against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, disregarding the ceasefire call announced by President Donald Trump and the positive response to his proposal.”
According to the statement, Israel carried out more than 230 air and artillery strikes between dawn on Saturday, Oct. 4, and the end of Tuesday, Oct. 7, targeting densely populated residential and displacement areas across the enclave. The attacks resulted in “clear massacres,” it said.
Among the dead were dozens of women and children, with 72 fatalities reported in Gaza City alone.
The office held Israel fully responsible for the continued attacks and urged the US administration and international community to “take serious, effective and urgent action to stop the aggression and establish a real ceasefire.”
President Trump on Saturday called on Israel to immediately stop bombing Gaza following Hamas’ positive response to his 20-point ceasefire plan, which includes a prisoner exchange and the disarmament of Hamas.
On Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that weekend ceasefire talks had been “positive” and were “proceeding rapidly.”
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas resumed Monday in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, mediated by Egypt and Qatar.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Tuesday that the talks aim to finalize arrangements for a hostage-prisoner exchange and ensure unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza, in addition to agreeing on maps for Israeli troop redeployments as a step toward full withdrawal.
Since October 2023, Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 67,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children, leaving Gaza in ruins and pushing the enclave to the brink of total collapse. — Agencies
