• An Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis killed seven people, raising the death toll to at least 37 since Sunday. 
• Israeli forces sent tanks into the Nuseirat camp, killing 20 people and sparking panic among residents. 
• Israel claims progress in Lebanon ceasefire talks, with Russia potentially helping to stop Hezbollah rearming. 

An Israeli airstrike killed seven people at a cafe near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Palestinian medics say, bringing the death toll from Israeli strikes since Sunday night to at least 37. 

In central Gaza, Israeli forces on Monday sent tanks into the Nuseirat camp from the west, sparking panic among residents and displaced families as advancing tanks opened fire. 

Twenty people were killed by air and ground strikes in Nuseirat, one of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic refugee sites, overnight and into Monday, including some in a tent encampment, health officials at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said. 

Resident Zaik Mohammad said the tank incursion caught residents by surprise. 

“Some people couldn’t leave and remained trapped inside their homes, appealing to be allowed out, while others rushed out with whatever they could carry as they fled,” Mohammad, 25, who lives 1km away from the targeted area, said. 

There was no Israeli comment on Monday’s violence. With the war in Gaza now in its 14th month, Israel is focusing its operations in the north and centre of the enclave in what it says is a campaign to stop Hamas militants from waging attacks and regrouping. 

Tens of thousands of Palestinian residents have been told to evacuate the areas, fuelling fears they may never be allowed to return. The already-slim chances of a ceasefire receded further at the weekend when mediator Qatar said it was suspending its efforts until Israel and Palestinian group Hamas showed greater willingness to reach an agreement. 

Israeli strikes also killed people in Gaza City and in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, where Israeli forces have operated since October 5, medics said. 

At Kamal Adwan Hospital near Beit Lahiya, medics said Israeli fire from a drone wounded three medical workers in the facility. 

The Israeli military said it killed Mohammad Abu Skhail, a senior commander of the Islamic Jihad group, an ally of Hamas, in a strike at a command centre inside a compound that previously served as a school in Gaza City. Palestinian medics said the attack killed six people. 

Israeli forces have besieged the three hospitals in and around Jabalia in northern Gaza for several weeks, and hospital officials have refused orders to evacuate the facilities or leave their patients unattended despite the lack of food, medical supplies and fuel. 

The Israeli military accuses Hamas of exploiting Gaza’s civilian population for military purposes, a charge the militant group denies. The Israeli army sent tanks into Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia camp in northern Gaza over a month ago. It said it had killed hundreds of militants in Jabalia and around it since the raids began. 

Meanwhile Israel says there is progress in talks on a Lebanon ceasefire and has indicated Russia could play a part by stopping Hezbollah rearming via Syria, although the group says it has not received any new truce proposals. 

Pummelled by Israel’s offensive, Hezbollah said political contacts were under way involving its backers in Iran, the US and Russia, while saying it had enough weapons for a “long war” and keeping up rocket fire into Israel. 

In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the war against Hezbollah was not yet over. 

The main challenge facing any ceasefire deal would be enforcement, he said, although there was “a certain progress” in talks. 

After previous rounds of fruitless US-led diplomacy to secure a Lebanon truce, the comments indicate renewed focus on the issue as President Joe Biden prepares to leave office in January, with President-elect Donald Trump set to replace him. 

Saar, addressing a Jerusalem news conference, said Israel was working with the United States on a ceasefire in Lebanon. 

Israel wants Hezbollah north of the Litani River – 30km from the border – and unable to rearm, he said. 

Saar said a basic principle for any agreement had to be that Hezbollah would not be able to bring weapons into Lebanon from Syria. 

“It is vital to the success of any arrangement in Lebanon,” he said. 

“And the Russians are, as you know, present in Syria. And if they are in agreement with this principle, I think they can contribute effectively to this objective.” 

Russia deployed forces into Syria nearly a decade ago to support President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war there. 

-Reuters