Israel-Hamas//Israeli army bombards Khan Yunis as families of hostages demand deal
On Monday, the Israeli army bombards Khan Yunis, the epicenter of the clashes in the southern Gaza Strip, while the families of the hostages in Israel urge the Netanyahu government to accept an agreement with Hamas to facilitate their release, reports Agerpres.ro.
During the night of Sunday into Monday, witnesses reported deadly Israeli attacks in Khan Yunis and fierce fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas fighters.
In northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, anti-missile sirens sounded overnight, according to the army. Several towns in southern Lebanon were targeted by Israeli strikes on Sunday, which killed a Lebanese Hezbollah fighter.
In the fourth month of this war, Israel has killed "about 20% to 30%" of Hamas fighters and is still far from its goal of destroying the Islamist movement, US intelligence estimates, according to the Wall Street Journal.
According to this newspaper, the US, Qatar and Egypt, countries that acted as mediators during the November truce, are trying to convince Israel and Hamas to approve a plan that would, among other things, allow the release of all hostages in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Overnight, relatives of the hostages and supporters gathered near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem to demand a deal for their release.
French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu is meeting the families of the hostages on Monday and then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant.
