Israel Rejects Ceasefire Calls, 44 More Killed In Gaza

Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip)- Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 44 people across Gaza, health officials said Saturday, as international pressure grows for a ceasefire but Israel's leader remains defiant about continuing the war.

Among the dead were nine from the same family in a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to staff at Al-Awda Hospital, where the bodies were brought. Five others were killed when a strike hit a tent for the displaced, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the dead.

Israel's army said they were not aware of anyone being killed by gunfire Saturday in southern Gaza, and didn't provide immediate comment about the airstrikes.

The director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City told The Associated Press that medical teams there were concerned about Israeli“tanks approaching the vicinity of the hospital,” restricting access to the facility where 159 patients are being treated.

“The bombardment has not stopped for a single moment,” Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiya said.

He added that 14 premature babies were treated in incubators in Helou Hospital, though the head of neonatal intensive care there, Dr. Nasser Bulbul, has said that facility's main gate was closed because of drones flying over the building.

Netanyahu and Trump scheduled to meet as pressure grows

The attacks came hours after a defiant Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told fellow world leaders at the UN General Assembly Friday that his nation“must finish the job” against Hamas in Gaza.

Netanyahu's words, aimed as much at his increasingly divided domestic audience as the global one, began after dozens of delegates from multiple nations walked out of the UN General Assembly hall en masse Friday morning as he began speaking.

International pressure on Israel to end the war is increasing, as is Israel's isolation, with a growing list of countries deciding recently to recognise Palestinian statehood, which Israel rejects.

Countries have been lobbying US President Donald Trump to press Israel for a ceasefire. On Friday, Trump told reporters on the White House lawn that he believes the US is close to achieving a deal on easing fighting in Gaza that“will get the hostages back” and“end the war.”

Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet Monday, and Trump said on social media Friday that“very inspired and productive discussions” and“intense negotiations” about Gaza are ongoing with countries in the region.

Yet, Israel is pressing ahead with another major ground operation in Gaza City, which experts say is experiencing famine. More than 300,000 people have fled, but up to 700,000 are still there, many because they can't afford to relocate.

Hospitals are short on supplies and targeted by airstrikes

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