More than 16 killed as Israel continues to pound Gaza

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Israel intensified attacks on Gaza on Thursday morning, killing more than 16 people, Palestinian media reported, after another failed attempt at reaching a ceasefire deal.
At least 11 died and scores were wounded in an Israeli air strike on a residential building in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza early on Thursday, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported. Medical sources said that most of those killed were children and women and their charred bodies arrived at Kamal Adwan hospital, while others are still trapped under the rubble.
Palestinian media also reported three people died and four were injured in a strike on a house in Al Moghazi camp in central Gaza, while areas in eastern Deir Al Balah were struck by Israeli artillery. Several people were killed and others injured in an attack on a residential apartment in Jabalia camp in northern Gaza.
A mother and her child died in a strike on a house east of Khan Younis in the south of Gaza, according to health officials.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 40,200 people since October 7, according to health authorities in the enclave. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.
The Israeli army began its offensive after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people.
Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for delays in agreeing a deal to end the fighting, free Israeli hostages and allow vital humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The US has presented ideas to bridge gaps and, through mediators Qatar and Egypt, pressed Hamas to return to talks this week in Cairo. But a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel was on board, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted by Israeli media as disagreeing on a key sticking point.
Mr Netanyahu insisted that Israel should maintain control of the Salah Al Din corridor, also known as the Philadelphi Corridor, on the border between Gaza and Egypt, which Israeli forces seized from Hamas.
Israel says the Palestinian groups relies on tunnels in the area to bring in weapons.
“Israel will insist on the achievement of all of its objectives for the war, as they have been defined by the Security Cabinet, including that Gaza never again constitutes a security threat to Israel. This requires securing the southern border,” Mr Netahyahu’s office said.
US President Joe Biden spoke to Mr Netanyahu by phone on Wednesday amid increased pressure to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal, the White House said.
Mr Biden “stressed the urgency of bringing the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure” to Mr Netanyahu, ahead of upcoming talks in Cairo, a readout showed. Mr Biden called the Cairo meetings a chance to “remove any remaining obstacles”.
The two also discussed “ongoing defensive US military deployments” to bolster security against threats by Iran and proxy groups, according to the readout.
Vice President Kamala Harris joined the call, which focused on efforts to “de-escalate” tension in the Middle East and to secure a deal that would end the 10-month conflict and see the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza, the White House said.
The US has also ordered a guided missile submarine to be deployed to the Middle East, to bolster Israel’s defences.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group has also arrived in the Middle East, the military said on Wednesday, after US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered it move more quickly.