Ceasefire with Israel is ‘imminent,’ say Hamas officials amid rising Gaza death toll

A ceasefire with Israel is “imminent, possibly within 24 hours,” several officials from Hamas told CNN on Wednesday, as the death toll in Gaza from Israeli airstrikes rose to more than 200 people.

Over 220 Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids on Gaza and the West Bank, including more than 60 children. Twelve people died in Israel from rockets fired by Hamas.

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Countries worldwide have urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek “de-escalation” in the fighting, including US President Joe Biden.

However, Israel’s intelligence minister Eli Cohen said on Wednesday that despite international pressure, the country would “finish the operation when we decide we have attained our goals.”

Israel carried out over a dozen airstrikes on Gaza on Wednesday, Reuters reported, adding that the army targeted what it said was a weapons storage unit in the Gaza City home of a Hamas official, and military infrastructure in the homes of other commanders from the group.

Middle East Third of airstrike victims in Gaza are children, minister says as Israel renews raids

International organizations and activists say that Israel’s raids on Gaza have put hundreds of Palestinian civilians, including children, in danger amid an already dire humanitarian crisis.

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