58 dead in Gaza as Israeli strikes continue amid ceasefire negotiations, humanitarian crisis

GAZA STRIP, Dec 13 (AFP): Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have killed 58 people, including aid workers. Thirty civilians, mostly children, were injured. The humanitarian crisis is worsening as aid access remains blocked. Despite the violence, ceasefire talks are ongoing. These discussions focus on hostages and delivering aid to those in need.
Gaza's civil defence agency said a series of Israeli air strikes killed at least 58 people, including 12 guards securing aid trucks, while the military said it targeted planning to hijack the vehicles.
The latest bloodshed came despite growing optimism that negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal might finally succeed, with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan saying on Thursday that the regional "context" had changed in favour of an agreement.
Seven guards were killed in a strike in Rafah, in southern Gaza, while another attack left five guards dead in nearby Khan Yunis, agency spokesman Mahmud Basal said.
"The (Israeli) occupation once again targeted those securing the aid trucks," Basal told AFP, though the military said it "does not strike humanitarian aid trucks".
Basal added that around 30 people, most of them children, were wounded in the two strikes.
Meanwhile, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Friday that at least 44,875 people have been killed in more than 14 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants.
The toll includes 40 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 106,454 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
UN chief 'concerned' over 'extensive violations' of Syria sovereignty, Israeli strikes
UN chief Antonio Guterres is "deeply concerned" over "extensive violations" of Syrian sovereignty, and by Israeli strikes on the country, his spokesman said Thursday.
Guterres "is deeply concerned by the recent and extensive violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Secretary-General is particularly concerned over the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Syria," Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
Israel orders troops to 'prepare to remain' in Syria buffer zone through winter
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has ordered the military to "prepare to remain" throughout the winter in the UN-patrolled buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights. Israel seized the demilitarized zone on Sunday, just hours after Syrian rebels swept president Bashar Assad from power.
Since then, the Israeli military has launched hundreds of air and naval strikes against Syrian military assets, targeting everything from chemical weapons stores to air defences to prevent them from falling into rebel hands.
The plan to deploy troops in the buffer zone comes at a time when Israeli forces are still withdrawing from southern Lebanon after fighting Hezbollah militants for months and the war in Gaza with Palestinian militants continues.
Rome's Jews express anger at
union strike over Israeli 'genocide'
Rome's Jewish community expressed dismay on Friday after two unions called a nationwide strike to protest against Italy's "support for the genocidal Israeli government" amongst other complaints.
Friday's strike by the USB and Cobas unions has primarily hit public transport and is due to last 24 hours.
"Ours is a strike against the war economy and thus also against our government's support for the Israeli state," a spokesperson for the USB union told Reuters.
Along with a demand for higher wages and a shorter working week, a lengthy strike manifesto published online singled out Israel in the unions' opposition to Italy's "growing involvement in war theatres".
Victor Fadlun, president of the Jewish Community of Rome, accused the unions of stirring anti-Semitism.