Hamas casts doubt over potential ceasefire as Blinken heads to region

Overnight, the Israeli bombardment continued leaving 19 people dead, ITV News Reporter Amy Lewis has the latest


Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 19 people overnight as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed to the region on Sunday to try to seal a ceasefire deal after months of contentious negotiations.

Mediators appeared to be closing in on a deal after two days of talks in Doha, with American and Israeli officials expressing cautious optimism.

But Hamas has signaled resistance to what it says are new demands by Israel, and the long-running talks have repeatedly stalled.

The latest Israeli bombardment included a strike early on Sunday on a home in the central town of Deir al-Balah that killed a woman and her six children, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Meanwhile, a strike in the northern town of Jabaliya hit two apartments in a residential building, killing two men, a woman and her daughter, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Another strike in central Gaza killed four people, according to the Awda Hospital.

Late on Saturday, a strike near the southern city of Khan Younis killed four people from the same family, including two women, according to Nasser Hospital.

International ceasefire talks are also meant to calm regional tensions that have threatened to explode into a wider war if Iran and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon attack Israel in retaliation for recent killings of militant leaders.

It comes as an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon early on Saturday killed at least 10 Syrian nationals, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

The strike on Wadi al-Kfour, in the Nabatieh province, is among the deadliest in Lebanon since the Hezbollah militant group and Israeli military started trading strikes on October 8.

Hezbollah maintains that it will stop its attacks once a ceasefire is reached in the Gaza Strip.


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