GAZA CITY
Thirteen Palestinians, including four children, have been killed by Israeli attacks since indirect ceasefire talks in Cairo collapsed late Tuesday, according to a Palestinian Health Ministry official.
"The latest victims bring to 2030 the total number of Palestinians killed since the beginning of Israel's military offensive against the Gaza Strip on July 7," ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qodra told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
He said that one Gaza resident had been killed by an Israeli strike on farmland in northern Gaza, while the body of another man – whose home was razed by an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday – had been pulled from the rubble.
Al-Qodra had said earlier that eight members of the same family, including three young brothers and a pregnant woman, had been killed by an Israeli strike in the town of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip early Wednesday.
Three other Palestinians, including a young girl, were killed, while a 53-year-old man was injured in a series of Israeli strikes and artillery barrages on different parts of the Gaza Strip, added al-Qodra.
He said that more than 10,000 Palestinians had been injured in devastating Israeli attacks on the besieged coastal enclave since the first week of July.
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators left Cairo on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively after the collapse of indirect talks for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Israel claims it pulled its delegation from Cairo after rockets were fired from Gaza at different parts of Israel on Tuesday.
The Israeli army then launched several strikes on the besieged coastal enclave, which is home to some 1.8 million Palestinians.
Hamas, for its part, has denied any knowledge of Tuesday's alleged rocket barrage, accusing Israel of seeking to undermine indirect ceasefire talks.
Since early August, Cairo has hosted indirect Palestinian-Israeli talks aimed at hammering out a permanent ceasefire arrangement.
Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has reeled under a crippling Israeli blockade that has badly affected the local economy and played havoc with residents' livelihoods.
By Ola Attalah
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en
