Israel pounds Gaza on war anniversary as truce talks enter second day

Israeli forces continued to pummel Gaza on Tuesday ahead of a second day of indirect peace talks that coincided with the second anniversary of the genocidal conflict.

At least ten people were killed in Israeli attacks on Tuesday morning, which were concentrated in the Gaza City and Khan Younis areas.

Three were killed in shelling in Gaza City's Sabra district, according to medical sources in Al-Shifa Hospital. In Khan Younis, a child was killed and many others wounded in Israeli bombing.

Emergency services reported that Israeli troops fired on a crowd of people waiting for aid in southern Gaza, wounding at least seven people.

Sirens sounded in southern Israel at dawn after a projectile was fired from Gaza, falling near the border village of Netiv HaAsara causing no casualties.

It came hours after the first day of indirect talks between Hamas and Israeli negotiators ended in Sharm el-Sheikh which Egyptian state-affiliated media said were held in a "positive atmosphere".

Hamas's delegation is being led by Khalil al-Hayya - who survived Israel's assassination attempt in Doha last month - while Israel's strategic affairs minister and Netanyahu confidante Ron Dermer is heading up Israel's negotiating team.

Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are also in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Mediators are focused on achieving an initial agreement to release the captives held in Gaza in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners and a partial pullback of Israeli troops.

More contentious issues - such as Hamas's disarmament and Israel's withdrawal from Gaza - would be tackled after a captive-prisoner exchange agreement is finalised.

Trump talked up the prospect of a deal being stuck on Sunday, saying that talks had been "very successful" and were "proceeding rapidly".

"I am told that the first phase should be completed this week, and I am asking everyone to MOVE FAST," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The 20-point peace plan, announced last Monday, plans for reconstruction, the formation of a new Gaza administration, and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force.

It would see a gradual Israeli pullback from Gaza and large amounts of aid enter the territory if Hamas agrees to release the captives.

Around 48 Israelis are thought to remain inside Gaza, at least 20 of them alive.

In a statement marking the second anniversary of 7 October, Palestinian Islamic Jihad said it would "spare no effort to reach a permanent ceasefire" but vowed not to allow Israel to use "political games" to defeat the Palestinian resistance.

PIJ is the second-largest Palestinian faction in Gaza.

Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

At least 67,173 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's genocidal response, with thousands of others thought to be buried beneath the rubble.

Israeli forces have decimated most of the territory and imposed a famine on its 2.2 million residents.

Israel's Plan B

Israel plans to resume plans to expel the Palestinian population and assassinate Hamas leaders should the ongoing talks collapse, according to The Times.

An internal military document seen by the British newspaper lays out plans to force civilians into five corners of the strip and accelerate deportations to third countries.

Residents would be kept in sterile zones, similar to Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz's plan to establish a concentration camp in Rafah.

People would be encouraged to leave via deportation flights organised by a bureau of "voluntary emigration".

Israel and the US have reportedly held talks with a handful of countries about accepting Palestinian refugees, though none have accepted.