News - Middle East: US President Donald Trump welcomed Hamas’s positive response to a peace proposal for Gaza and called on Israel to “immediately stop bombing Gaza,” while Israel has continued its deadly bombardment of Gaza, killing at least 20 more Palestinians since dawn.

On Friday, Hamas submitted its response to the 20-point proposal forwarded by Trump, with the group agreeing to hand over administration of the besieged territory to Palestinian technocrats and free all Israeli captives.

The Gaza-based resistance group’s response said it was willing to “immediately enter” peace negotiations through mediators.

In a video address following Hamas’s statement, Trump said he believes Hamas is ready for a “lasting peace” and called on Israel to “immediately stop bombing Gaza.”

Other world leaders also welcomed Hamas’s response and urged the Israeli regime to stop the genocide

Nonetheless, reports said that at least twenty people have been killed across Gaza since dawn, including two children in an Israeli drone attack on a tent in al-Mawasi, southern Gaza.

Gaza City’s Baptist Hospital stated on Saturday that an Israeli drone targeted a house in the Tuffah neighborhood, northeast of Gaza City, killing 4 people and wounding others.

Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said on Saturday that the regime killed 2 children and injured 8 more in a drone strike on a tent within the so-called humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.

“It was a very violent night, during which the [Israeli army] carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the Strip, despite President Trump’s call to halt the bombing,” civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said on Saturday.

Media reports quoting local sources and residents say that since Friday, the Israeli attacks have been particularly severe, especially in Gaza City.

The Israeli army has warned Palestinians against returning to Gaza City, terming it a “dangerous combat zone.”

Al Jazeera journalist Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, said that despite earlier instructions telling the Israeli military to move from offensive mode into defensive mode, three of the attacks on Gaza today happened right after this statement was made.

“Meanwhile, we’re not seeing any concrete movement on the ground in terms of withdrawal from areas that have been occupied by the Israeli military over the past few days,” he added.

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal campaign against Gaza on October 7, 2023, it has killed more than 66,280 Palestinians and injured over 169,165, most of them women and children.

Experts believe the true number of casualties is significantly higher, as thousands remain unaccounted for or lie buried under rubble.

Two children in Gaza have died of starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours. The deaths raise the toll of victims in Gaza due to the Israeli-induced famine to 459, including 154 children.

Source: Press TV