“Ghaith. You are the heart and soul of your mother,” Bendjama quoted Abu Dagga as writing. “When I die, I want you to pray for me, not to cry for me.”
“I want you never, never to forget me. I did everything to keep you happy and safe and when you grow, when you marry, and when you have a daughter, name her Mariam after me.”
The camera – now blood-stained – Abu Dagga was carrying when she was killed.Credit: AP
Meanwhile, Israeli and US officials met in Washington to discuss postwar Gaza, even as Israel’s military called the evacuation of Gaza City “inevitable” ahead of a new offensive and with no sign of a ceasefire in sight.
The meeting took place amid mounting outrage over the double Israeli strike on the Gaza hospital. The Israeli military, which has said it would investigate, offered no immediate explanation for striking twice and no evidence for an assertion that six of the dead were militants.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar at the State Department. Rubio grinned for the cameras as journalists shouted questions.
After the meeting, Saar was asked what the plan was for a Palestinian state, to which he replied there would not be any, Reuters reported.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar at the State Department in Washington on Wednesday.Credit: AP
Later, US President Donald Trump held a separate Oval Office meeting about the postwar future of the Gaza Strip, The New York Times reported on Thursday morning AEST.
He met for more than 90 minutes with his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law and former White House adviser Jared Kushner, the Times reported, citing two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.
Rubio was there for portions of the meeting, as was Tony Blair, the former British prime minister who has since started his Institute for Global Change. Witkoff had earlier revealed plans for the meeting in a Fox News interview, saying that the administration was assembling “a very comprehensive plan” for the region.
As a growing chorus of international leaders urge Israel to reconsider its offensive and commit to talks, Pope Leo XIV called for Israel to halt the “collective punishment” and forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.
Aid groups warn that an expanded Israeli military offensive could worsen the humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory, where most of the more than 2 million residents have been displaced, neighbourhoods lie in ruins and a famine has been declared in Gaza City.
The Israeli military on Wednesday told residents of Gaza City to prepare to leave.
Spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in Arabic on X that Israeli forces had surveyed vast empty areas south of the city “to assist the evacuating residents as much as possible”. He said the displaced would receive space for tents, and infrastructure would be set up to distribute aid and water.
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More than 80 per cent of Gaza is designated as an Israeli military zone or subject to displacement orders, the UN humanitarian agency said in June.
Israel has pressed ahead with plans to mobilise tens of thousands of reservists. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the military will launch its offensive while simultaneously pursuing a ceasefire.
Hamas said last week that it accepted a ceasefire plan from Arab mediators.
Qatar, which has rarely assigned blame through more than a year of mediation, said Tuesday that Israel has yet to officially respond and “does not want to reach an agreement”. Last week, an official from Qatar said the proposal under discussion was “almost identical” to an earlier draft that Witkoff put forth and Israel accepted.
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The deal would include a 60-day truce, the release of some of the 50 remaining hostages held by Hamas in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza and a road map toward talks on a lasting ceasefire.
Many in Netanyahu’s coalition government oppose such a phased deal. Meanwhile, protests have swelled in Israel as hostages’ families and their supporters press for a ceasefire. The government argues that a widened offensive is the best way to bring them home and cripple Hamas’ capacity to launch future attacks.
At least 39 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded Wednesday across the Gaza Strip, the majority of whom died in Israeli strikes and gunfire, according to Gaza health officials.
Israel’s military did not immediately respond to questions about the strikes. Its offensive has killed nearly 63,000 Palestinians during the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says around half were women and children. The agency does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count.
The ministry said on Wednesday that 10 more people died of malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 313 people during the war, including 119 children.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the Israeli offensive. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Of the 50 remaining in Gaza, Israel believes around 20 are alive.
AP, Reuters
