Israeli strike kills 20 in Gaza; Trump says expects Hamas reply to truce proposal soon

TEL AVIV/CAIRO: At least 20 Palestinians were killed on Friday in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, according to local health officials, as US President Donald Trump said he expected Hamas to respond to his “final proposal” for a ceasefire in Gaza in the next 24 hours.Health officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, said the Israeli military had carried out an airstrike on a tent encampment west of the city around 2am, killing 15 Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war. Five were killed in northern Jabalia, medics said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.Later on Friday, Palestinians gathered to perform funeral prayers before burying those killed overnight. “The ceasefire will come, and I have lost my brother? There should have been a ceasefire long ago before I lost my brother,” said 13-year-old Mayar Al Farr as she wept. Her brother, Mahmoud, was among those killed. Adlar Mouamar said her nephew, Ashraf, was also killed. “Our hearts are broken. We ask the world, we don’t want food...We want them to end the bloodshed.”Trump earlier said it would probably be known in 24 hours whether Hamas has accepted a ceasefire between the Palestinian militant group and Israel. On Tuesday, Trump announced Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas. Hamas, which has previously declared it would only agree to a deal for an end to the war, has said it was studying the proposal. reuters(This is a Reuters story)