Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 29 people including young quintuplets overnight and into Sunday, health officials said, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel to try to seal a ceasefire deal that could help ease soaring regional tensions, the AP reports. The latest Israeli bombardment included a strike on a home in Deir al-Balah that killed a woman and her six children, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. An Associated Press reporter there counted the bodies. Mohammed Awad Khatab, the children's grandfather, said his daughter was a teacher, and the youngest child was 18 months. The others were 10-year-old quintuplets, the hospital said. "The six children have become body parts. They were placed in a single bag," Khatab told reporters. "What did they do? Did they kill any of the Jews? ... Will this provide security to Israel?"
The US and fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar have said they were closing in on a deal after two days of talks in Doha, with Israeli officials expressing cautious optimism. But Hamas in a statement Sunday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of setting new conditions, including his refusal of a complete withdrawal of forces from Gaza. The evolving proposal calls for a three-phase process in which Hamas would release all hostages abducted during its Oct. 7 attack. In exchange, Israel would withdraw its forces from Gaza and release Palestinian prisoners. Blinken will meet with Netanyahu on Monday, then travel to Egypt on Tuesday for meetings with officials there, the State Department said, and may stop in at least one other regional country. (Another recent strike in Gaza killed 18 members of one family.)
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