Israeli drone strike kills 2 people in Gaza as ceasefire standoff continues

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 07, 2025 12:03 PM EST | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

An Israeli drone onslaught killed 2 radical in Gaza on Friday, section Palestinian aesculapian authorities said, underscoring the uncertainty surrounding a fragile ceasefire woody that has halted warring successful the enclave for weeks.

The Israeli subject said the drone struck a radical of suspected militants operating adjacent its troops successful northern Gaza and planting an explosive instrumentality successful the ground, but it gave nary details connected casualties.

The military, nether caller service main Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, has made preparations for a instrumentality to warfare in Gaza if nary statement tin beryllium reached with Hamas connected extending the 42-day ceasefire agreed to past month.

But with a sojourn successful the coming days from U.S. President Donald Trump's peculiar Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, who has held nonstop talks with Hamas, determination has been nary denotation that Israel has fixed up connected continuing the ceasefire.

A delegation from Hamas arrived successful Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators who person been helping facilitate the talks on with officials from Qatar, aiming to proceed to the adjacent signifier of the deal, which could unfastened the mode to ending the war.

In an evident effort to unit Israel, Hamas released a video showing Israeli worker Matan Angrest, 1 of 59 Israeli and overseas hostages inactive being held successful the Gaza Strip.

Unclear whether ceasefire talks volition spell ahead

Despite a fig of hiccups, the ceasefire has mostly held since Jan. 19, allowing the speech of 33 Israeli hostages and 5 Thais for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

But it is unclear whether talks to merchandise the remaining hostages and implicit the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza volition spell ahead, contempt unit from Trump, who has demanded that Hamas manus implicit each those inactive held oregon look devastating consequences.

Israel has demanded the instrumentality of its hostages and an hold of the truce done the Muslim beatified period of Ramadan until aft the Jewish Passover vacation successful April. But it has refused to hold to opening talks that would screen issues specified arsenic the last withdrawal of its troops from Gaza and a post-war medication for the enclave.

WATCH | All assistance blocked from entering Gaza since Sunday:

Zamir, Israel's caller subject chief, has been visiting troops since assuming bid of the Israel Defence Forces this week and said the service is prepared to instrumentality to combat in Gaza if ordered.

The Palestinian Health Ministry and officials astatine the Al-Ahly Hospital said 2 radical were killed successful Friday's drone onslaught successful the Shejaia country of Gaza City. A akin incidental connected Thursday killed 3 people. The subject said that strike also targeted individuals seen planting a weaponry adjacent Israeli troops.

The archetypal Friday of Ramadan saw thousands participate the walled Old City of Jerusalem to commune astatine Al-Aqsa Mosque, with Israel allowing a constricted fig of older Palestinians and children from the occupied West Bank to transverse into the city.

"We person not travel for 3 oregon 4 years, but convey God for the happiness and joyousness that we were capable to scope Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is the top joyousness for Muslims," said Salah Aleiwi, who came successful from the West Bank.

Tensions emergence successful West Bank

The mosque, connected a tract successful Jerusalem's Old City that Jews telephone the Temple Mount and revere arsenic the tract of 2 past temples, is simply a beatified spot for some religions and has agelong been a absorption for clashes that person astatine times spiralled into wider conflict.

Tensions successful the West Bank person risen amid a weeks-long Israeli cognition against Palestinian exile camps, wherever troops person demolished dozens of houses and destroyed roads and different infrastructure, sending tens of thousands of campy residents retired of their homes.

Israel says the cognition is directed against Iranian-backed Palestinian militant groups entrenched successful the camps.

On Friday, determination was a dense deployment of constabulary successful the constrictive cobbled streets of the Old City but nary reports of superior trouble.

"The Israeli constabulary are dispersed retired crossed Jerusalem and crossed Israel successful bid to let the harmless situation for the accomplishment of each these worshippers coming here," constabulary spokesperson Dean Elsdunne said.

In caller years, Israeli authorities person regularly restricted entree to the mosque compound, citing information needs, and introduction connected Friday was conditional connected support from police, adjacent for those who qualified by age.

Ibtisam Abdul Fattah, a 65-year-old from the West Bank, said she had been turned backmost doubly astatine the West Bank checkpoint of Qalandiya, conscionable northbound of Jerusalem. "We are successful our onshore but we are not allowed," she said.